Has someone secretly installed spyware onto your Android, iPhone, or Blackberry mobile device? Have you started to receive strange text messages and phone calls that worry you? Do you know how to figure out if your phone is infected with spyware and what steps to take if it is? Spyware is a form of malicious software that can be installed on your phone remotely or in person. There are a lot of signs that [...]
Online fraud is a serious issue. Millions of people every year fall victim to online fraud scams and many of them don't realize it until it's too late. In this digital age, it's important to protect yourself from online fraud, but with the constantly evolving schemes of fraudsters, what are specific ways you can protect yourself from online fraud? Tip #1: Don't click on links in emails or texts from unknown or suspicious senders [...]
Zelle is a popular online payment platform that allows users to instantly send money to anyone anywhere. It’s easy. Millions of people use Zelle every month as an alternative to traditional checks or bank transfers. However, where there are easy ways to move money, there are scammers looking to infiltrate it. The Zelle scam goes something like this: To start, the target victims in this scam are people who do not have a Zelle [...]
The mechanic's lien title scam is one of the oldest title scams in the book. As a consumer, you may not be familiar with the steps of a mechanic's lien process, but what you should know is that it's a powerful legal process that is not taken lightly. What is a mechanic’s lien? A mechanic's lien is a legal right that attaches to real property (in this case, the property being the vehicle) and [...]
A growing and alarming trend online is the evolving activities of online scammers. Whether you're buying something online, starting a job, or looking for free stuff; you could be the next victim of a scammer. Scammers are hiding on the internet and many don't even know they're being scammed until it's too late. The best way to avoid being scammed online is to learn how to recognize a scammer before they can strike. Red [...]
Whether you’re searching for hidden assets for a legal case or you’re an armchair investigator, Active Intel now offers a way for you to do your own asset search online from the comfort of your home. What is an asset search? An asset search is an investigation and a report of various types of records to determine a person's or organization's assets, including bank accounts, automobiles, property, businesses—even things like art, life insurance policies, [...]
Ghost vendor fraud is the most common type of internal corporate fraud that occurs. A ghost vendor is a payment to a company or vendor that does not exist. When you run reports on your payments and vendors, everything looks legitimate. However, the money is then diverted back to the perpetrator(s). When employees create ghost vendors, they do it for a reason. It's often an employee with access to the company's bank accounts or [...]
Personal loan scams are nothing new, they're just now conducted mostly online. The anonymity of the internet allows for cybercriminals to post as loan officers and claim to offer loans even when they don't have a license to do so. The scam goes something like this: You receive a phone call, email, text message, or some other form of communication letting you know that you've been approved for a personal loan of $5,000. You [...]
You’re curious about making money online but concerned that the opportunities presented to you are just fake job offers. You Google for the phrases: “High paying work from home jobs” or “Legitimate work at home jobs” and find thousands of online job postings, many of which are offering a way to make thousands of dollars a week using little to no effort. How can these jobs really be legitimate when all they want is [...]
The who, what, when, and how of initial coin offering (ICO) scams. Just like any other industry, the cryptocurrency space is a magnet for scammers. ICOs are especially vulnerable to fraud because many are new and therefore don't have long track records that potential investors can investigate. The ICO scam goes something like this: You hear about this new type of coin that is just entering the crypto market. Through social media or other [...]
