Yesterday, January 2nd, my wife received a billing alert from her phone provider. Luckily, she's not with EE - because it's a pretty convincing text. That domain name is specifically designed to include the day's date. If you're stood up on a crowded train, with your phone screen cracked, would you notice that a .…
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Another day, another scam caller. Would you fall for this fraud? You'd probably realise that this was a (crap) text-to-voice system and that the tax authorities are more likely to send a letter than a phone call. But not everyone is so switched-on. If you've not had many dealings with HMRC, would you know how…
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Gmail is usually pretty good at stopping spam from reaching my inbox. When it slips up, it reminds me of just how terrifying the modern internet is. Early one morning, I received this email from someone I know (details redacted by me). It came from his email, it has his signature at the bottom. This…
Continue reading →Last week I was contacted by the BBC's consumer affairs programme "You And Yours" for my expert opinion on a new type of mobile phone scam. Warning! I'll be on @BBCRadio4's You And Yours shortly.Please tune your wirelesses accordingly. pic.twitter.com/6F3ZSiWuIn — Terence Eden (@edent) April 11, 2016 Several people had contacted the show to say…
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There is a new API in town! HTML5 will (soon) let you make the user's device vibrate. What fun! Obviously, it's useful for triggering alerts, improved immersivness during gameplay, and all sorts of other fun things like sending Morse Code messages via vibration. At the moment, Chrome (and other Android browsers) ask for permission before…
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Just the look of those permissions is enough to break me out in a cold sweat! According to Lookout - the leading security solution for Android - it's a payware scam. No doubt ready to send a barrage of Premium SMS to drain my phone's credit. It's quite upsetting that a company like Yahoo would…
Continue reading →Ah! Valkee! For the last few years I've been blogging about this "miracle cure" for depression - in 2011 I called Valkee a technology scam and last year Valkee's website was found to be misleading the public. They claim that by sticking a light in your ear, you can cure both depression and cancer. These…
Continue reading →I recently read about an innovative telephone call scam. A scammer rings the mark and asks for her credit card details. If the mark refuses, the scammer tells her to hang up the phone, then dial 999 and ask for "Sergeant Scammer of the Fraud Squad". The mark does so, and is connected to what…
Continue reading →Regular readers may know that I'm not a big fan of Valkee - the magic light you shine in your ears to improve your mood. Back in September, I complained to the ASA about the Valkee website. I felt that it was making unfounded claims, was confusing testimonial with science, and was generally misleading. In…
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Why do some people in the technology community seem so susceptible to snake oil? I suspect it's because of two things. We trust our friends' judgement. We are experts in our fields and, therefore, trust our own judgement in matters we don't fully understand. Compare and contrast the following two statements. On the announcement of…
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