How To Protect Yourself From Scammers

How To Protect Yourself From Scammers

Scammers are versatile in their tactics, posing as various entities, including banks, real estate agencies, utility companies, and even family members or government agencies. They often employ pressure tactics to create a false sense of urgency, leading to rushed decisions and financial losses. To safeguard your interests, it's essential to be vigilant and take proactive steps to prevent falling victim to scams. This article offers insights and tips on how to protect yourself from scammers.

Question Too-Good-To-Be-True Offers

Scammers often dangle tempting promises of high returns, low risk, and "golden" opportunities. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Take your time to ask questions, verify claims, and conduct due diligence before making any financial commitments. This cautious approach can help you avoid falling prey to fraudulent schemes.

Be Wary of "Grandparent Scams"

One common scam involves imposters claiming to be family members, especially grandparents, seeking financial help. If someone purports to be a family member, independently verify their identity by calling them directly. In cases where you suspect a family member needs assistance, reach out to them through a trusted phone number or in-person contact. Avoid responding to such pleas via email, social media, or text, and always consult with the person's parents before sending money to a potential scammer.

Guard Your Passwords and PINs

Your passwords and PINs are the keys to your online security. Never share them, even with close friends, family, or relatives. Keeping this information confidential is vital for safeguarding your financial and personal data.

Protect Against Phishing Emails

Phishing emails are a favored tool among scammers. Pay close attention to any email that appears as a bill or a security alert. Be cautious if you notice misspelled words, your name is absent, the links seem suspicious, or if you're asked to "verify" your account or personal information. In such cases, delete the email and promptly report it to the relevant authorities.

Implement Security Best Practices

• Be Cautious with Money Transfers: 
• Avoid sending money to individuals you don't know in real life, particularly through third-party services like Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App. 
• Refrain from using gift cards to settle bills; legitimate businesses do not request payment via gift cards.
• Ignore Unsolicited Messages: 
• Delete random texts and emails that ask you to click a link or provide personal information.
• Never click on links from untrusted sources.
• Regularly Monitor Your Accounts: 
• Stay vigilant by regularly monitoring your financial accounts. 
• Respond promptly to fraud alerts and report any unauthorized transactions.

Enable Multifactor Authentication

For added security, enable multifactor authentication (MFA) for your accounts whenever possible. MFA provides an extra layer of protection that can thwart account hacks or hijacks even if a malicious actor obtains your login information.

Understanding Fake Websites and How Scammers Exploit Them

Fake websites are tools scammers use to deceive individuals into divulging sensitive information, downloading malware, or making purchases from non-existent products. Scammers often employ these websites as part of phishing attacks.

Recognizing fake websites is becoming increasingly challenging. To ensure you're not dealing with a fraudulent website, remain vigilant and apply the aforementioned protection measures. By staying informed and exercising caution, you can significantly reduce your vulnerability to scams and safeguard your online security.

In conclusion, being proactive, skeptical, and informed is the best defense against scammers. Protect your personal and financial information by following these guidelines, and remember that it's always better to be cautious than to fall victim to fraudulent schemes.

We Also Recommend Reading:

11 Ways To Spot Fake Website

Pacific NW Computers

www.linktr.ee/pnwcomputers

www.pacificnwcomputers.com

Protect Your Comcast.net Email from Hijackers

How to Protect Your Comcast.net Email Account from Hijackers

If you use Comcast.net email, you may have heard of some cases where customers’ email accounts were hijacked by hackers. This can be a very frustrating and scary situation, as hackers can use your email account to scam your contacts, steal your personal information, or cause other damages.

In this blog article, I will explain how hackers can hijack your Comcast.net email account, what they can do with it, and how you can protect yourself from this threat.

How Hackers Can Hijack Your Comcast.net Email Account

There are different ways that hackers can gain access to your Comcast.net email account, but one of the most common methods is phishing. Phishing is when hackers send you fake emails or direct you to fake websites that look like they are from Comcast or other legitimate sources. They may ask you to enter your email address and password or click on a link or attachment that contains malware. If you fall for their tricks, they can capture your login credentials and use them to access your email account.

Another possible method that hackers can use to hijack your Comcast.net email account is through a data breach. A data breach is when hackers break into a database that contains sensitive information, such as email addresses and passwords. If the database belongs to Comcast or a third-party service that you use with your Comcast.net email account, hackers may be able to obtain your login credentials and use them to access your email account.

What Hackers Can Do With Your Comcast.net Email Account

Once hackers have access to your Comcast.net email account, they can do a lot of malicious things with it. Some of the common things that hackers can do are:

• Set up email redirection or auto-forwarding rules. This means that hackers can forward emails coming into your account to their own email account and continue their attack on those who are emailing you directly.
• Create a spoof email account that looks very similar to your actual email address but with a different domain name. For example, if your email address is johnsomeguy@comcast.net, hackers may create a spoof email address like johnsomeguy@outlook.com. They can then use the spoof email address to impersonate you and scam your contacts in various ways.
• Attempt to hijack and take over other various online accounts, as the hackers can now receive/redirect security and login authentication emails.
• Delete all contacts in your address book, storage folders in your email account, or incoming email messages. This can cause you to lose important data and communication.
• Send spam or malicious emails from your email account to other people. This can damage your reputation and expose others to potential harm.

How You Can Protect Yourself From This Threat

If you suspect that your Comcast.net email account has been hijacked by hackers, you should take immediate action to secure it and prevent further damage. Here are some steps that you can take:

• Change your password as soon as possible. Make sure that you use a strong password that does not use any common words or phrases. You can use a password manager or generator tool to help you create and remember a strong password.
• Check your email settings and rules. Look for any suspicious redirection or auto-forwarding rules that hackers may have set up and delete them. Also, check if hackers have changed any other settings, such as your signature, reply-to address, or recovery options.
• Scan your computer and devices for malware. Use reputable antivirus or anti-malware software to scan your computer and devices for any malware that hackers may have installed on them. Malware can compromise your security and allow hackers to access your email account or other accounts.
• Contact your contacts and inform them of the situation. Let them know that your email account has been hijacked and warn them not to open any emails or click on any links or attachments that they may have received from you recently. Also, ask them to report any suspicious emails that they may receive from the spoof email address that hackers may have created.
• Consider switching to a more secure email provider. Comcast.net email does not always offer some of the advanced security features that other email providers do, such as two-factor authentication (2FA). 2FA is when you need to enter a code or use another device to verify your identity when you log in to your email account. This adds an extra layer of protection against hackers who may have stolen your password. You may want to switch to an email provider that offers 2FA or other security features.

I hope this blog article has helped you understand how hackers can hijack your Comcast.net email account, what they can do with it, and how you can protect yourself from this threat. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below.

Pacific NW Computers

www.linktr.ee/pnwcomputers

www.pacificnwcomputers.com

 Xfinity, Comcast & Comcast Business 
Modem Port Forwarding

1. Login to your Xfinity/Comcast Modem by entering one of the two following IP addresses into a browser address bar:
1. 10.0.0.1 for residential customers.
2. 10.1.10.1 for Comcast Business customers.
   
   
2. The default logins for most Comcast/Xfinity modems are:
1. Username: cusadmin Password: highspeed
2. Username: admin Password: password
   
   
3. After you log in, if you are asked to change the default password, do so! That way no random people can try to gain access to your modem if they gain access to your wifi/network. Use a safe/secure password and make a note of that information for future use.
   
   
4. First off, you want to configure the Firewall in your modem to either be set to Custom or if you can, turn it off completely if possible.
   
   
5. After turning off the Firewall, go to "Connected Devices".
   
   
6. Reserve the IP address (set a static IP) for the device that you are port forwarding to.
   
   
7. Click on the "Advanced" tab, and you can then set up any/all port forwarding rules as needed to your statically assigned device!
   

Xfinity/Residential Modem Firewall:

Comcast Business Modem Firewall:

• To make sure you have in fact opened the needed ports successfully, you first need to figure out your public IP address. You can visit www.whatismyip.com and get your Public IP address.

• Next, visit www.yougetsignal.com's Open Port testing site and make sure the ports you have opened/forwarded are indeed working!

Jon Pienkowski

Pacific NW Computers

www.pacificnwcomputers.com

www.linktr.ee/pnwcomputers

CenturyLink vs Xfinity! What Internet Provider is the Best!?

CenturyLink vs Xfinity

Out in the Pacific North West we only have two options when it comes to internet service providers: 

CenturyLink or Comcast

Only two?!

That's right!

Even if you are farther out in the rural areas and have service from TDS or SpiritOne, you are simply using rebranded internet from one of those two providers. So that leads us to one of the most asked questions that I get;

"What should I use!? Comcast/Xfinity or CenturyLink?!"

Well for starters, I have used both services for well over 10 years. But I am currently with Comcast/Xfinity Internet. I used CenturyLink for about 10 years when I lived in Battle Ground, WA, and briefly again when I moved to Vancouver, WA. But have been with Xfinity/Comcast for the last 10 years now. Not to mention the thousands of on sites I do a year (for the past 11 years), I see and deal with a LOT of networking and internet issues. So I think can safely say that I have a good understanding of how each of these companies works and operates.

When it comes to you how much Internet you get per dollar, CenturyLink right now is the king of the castle. With their new fiber Internet Service, they are able to get one-gigabit speeds to their customers at a cheaper price than you can get similar speeds from Comcast/Xfinity.

However, in my experience, I've found that CenturyLink had the most downtime and most extended downtimes of the two companies. For example, when I was in college I had a finals test to do through an online school. I was not able to complete that test due to a 72-hour outage from CenturyLink. I have had some outages with Comcast/Xfinity that sometimes have lasted most of the day or the night. But I have never run into such an extensive outage issue via Comcast/Xfinity.

Now the one issue I would definitely give a crown to Comcast/Xfinity four is the lack of the ability in their support team to properly identify and rectify issues with their customer’s internet connection and speed issues. For example, I recently upgraded to 1GB internet service at my home office. With a compatible modem and all, my internet went down for several days after the upgrade had occurred. They did get me up and running, but was not getting the speed I was paying for. In total it took over two weeks of phone tech support, and three visits from an onsite technician to get my Internet to working correctly. I have had similarly bad of issues getting tech support from CenturyLink as well, but I think Comcast/Xfinity beats them by a margin.

As a side note to all that I have explained bout Comcast/Xfinity so far, I would also bring attention to their Comcast/Xfinity business service. If you are a business, you don’t necessarily have to use their Business internet service. They purport that the business internet has a guaranteed uptime that the home internet doesn’t have, but have never found that to be true. If they have an outage, typically home and business services go down first. I will note, however, that business customers are prioritized for onsite service. That I can verify. However, you will pay more for your Internet dramatically less speed. So if you are a home-based business you most likely can just use Comcast/Xfinity home Internet!

The one caveat to all of that however is that if you use their business security nor their business telephone service you will have to use their business Internet. One recommendation I'd make to customers facing this type of dilemma is for them to get their security and telephone service through a different provider. Then simply get/use the fastest home internet they have available for your location!

So, when it comes down to it, what you REALLY are doing is choosing the lesser of two evils for providing you internet service.

• If you don't have a home-based business/rely on the internet, don't mind extended outages because of a wind storm, you can get some cheaper FAST internet via CenturyLink.
• If your day-to-day life relies on the need for internet (home business, student, etc.) then Comcast/Xfinity would be the way to go.

Again, this is all my opinion. But with my experience and expertise in the IT/IT support field, I hope this can help some folks make the decision between the two "King Pins" of Pacific Northwest internet; CenturyLink vs Comcast.