How To Identify Fraudulent Activities Online

  Spotting Spooky Scams Online   

Remember: If you ever see something online that makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, talk to your parents or a trusted adult. They can help you figure out what to do. 

"Are you tired of being bullied or harassed online? Or do you want to take precautions? This blog post on how to identify fraudulent activities online will help you a lot.

"The internet is a fantastic place to learn, play, and connect with friends. But just like the real world, there can be dangers in staying online for any purpose. That’s where cybersecurity comes in!

"The use of the internet is beautiful but its users are making it difficult for some people around the cyber space.

"We have noticed a higher increase in cyber theft, bridge, and cyberbullying in the 21st century than in centuries past.

"This has cost a lot of businesses and organizations their valued trademark and treasures

"So, we will explain how to identify fraudulent activities online. But let us have a deep dive into cybersecurity first." . . .  More...

. . . "How To Identify Fraudulent Activities Online:  "Being a good online detective is all about learning the tricks of the trade! Here are some things to watch out for to keep your information safe and avoid online scams:

• "Stranger Danger Goes Digital: Just like in the real world, it’s important to be careful about talking to strangers online. Don’t share personal information like your address, phone number, or school name with people you don’t know well, even if they seem nice.
• Beware of Phishing: Phishing is when someone tries to trick you into giving them your information by pretending to be someone or something they’re not. They might send you an email that looks like it’s from a bank, a game company, or even a friend. Here’s how to spot a phishing attempt:
  • Check the Sender: Does the email address look strange or misspelled? Legitimate companies will usually have email addresses that end with their company name (e.g., [email address removed]).
  • Too Good to Be True? It Probably Is! Does the email offer you something amazing, like free virtual currency or a chance to win a big prize? If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
  • Urgency Alerts: Does the email pressure you to click on a link or reply right away? Scammers often try to create a sense of urgency to make you act without thinking.
  • Suspicious Links: Never click on links in emails from unknown senders. If you’re unsure about an email, even if it seems to be from someone you know, talk to your parents or a trusted adult before clicking anything.
• Pop-Ups & Download Dangers: Sometimes, scary pop-up windows might appear on your screen, warning you about viruses or offering you free software. Don’t click on these pop-ups! They might be trying to install malware (bad software) on your device. Also, only download games and apps from trusted sources, like official app stores.
• Social Media Savvy: Social media platforms are great for connecting with friends, but it’s important to be careful about what you share. Remember, once you post something online, it can be difficult or even impossible to erase it. Don’t share personal information or anything you wouldn’t want everyone to see. Be mindful of who you accept as friends – only connect with people you know and trust in real life.
• Strong Passwords are Super Important: Think of your passwords like the keys to your online treasure chest! Make sure your passwords are strong and unique for each account. They should be long (at least 8 characters) and include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Don’t share your passwords with anyone, not even your best friend!" . . .
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• Avoid Being Scammed: How to Identify Fake Emails and Suspicious Links | McAfee Blog

Beware These 10 Email Scams So You Don't Get Ripped Off

By Gutting CAFE, Trump Can Make Autos Beautiful Again

 Issues & Insights 

 "But the combination of Congress’ and Trump’s actions will make it all the harder for the next administration to try to dictate car-buying choices for Americans." 

"President Donald Trump took another welcome step this week to free the auto industry from the grip of federal regulators who are largely to blame for the boring, homogenized fleet of cars that fill up the roads these days.

"On Wednesday, Trump released a plan to roll back federal corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standard to levels that won’t force Americans into electric cars.

"In what he’s calling a reset, the plan is to chuck the Biden administration’s fuel mandate – a mandate specifically designed to force car buyers into EVs.

"As the White House correctly put it, “The Biden standards would have compelled widespread shifts to EVs that American consumers did not ask for, accompanied by significant cost-of-living increases. Since EVs are so expensive to build, automakers must sell them at a loss and make up the difference by significantly raising the sticker price of gas cars.”

"As a refresher, the CAFE standards came into being during the 1970s energy crisis – a crisis itself caused by inept government regulations. The standards require the fleet of cars sold by a manufacturer to meet government-dictated average fuel-economy targets, or face hefty annual fines.

"As we noted in this space in July:

From the beginning, these standards were a disaster, forcing automakers to radically downsize their fleet, which research showed cost thousands of lives because, all things being equal, smaller, lighter cars are less safe than larger ones.

"They also resulted in cars being stripped of anything that added weight – including spare tires –dreary designs that only a socialist could love, and stuffed with hated features such as the “start-stop” system.

"But the administration’s move, while welcome, isn’t as big a deal as it might seem. After all, the best solution would be to jettison CAFE standards entirely, not ratchet them up more slowly. The justification for these standards – an energy crisis – is long gone, and the government simply has no business dictating what kind of cars, or how many of each kind, automakers must sell.

"What’s more, Congress rendered the debate over CAFE standards largely moot this summer, when – in a genius move completely overlooked by the press – lawmakers zeroed out the fines for missing whatever the CAFE targets are." . . .   (See, “CAFE Standards Are Dead.“)

George Soros wrecked American criminal justice — one leftist DA at a time

NY Post    

"George Gascón, the Los Angeles district attorney who survived multiple recall attempts, was finally ousted in 2024, and at least 21 other Soros-linked DAs have been replaced by tough-on-crime counterparts since 2022. To put it plainly, Soros’ “movement” has failed. The question is how much longer communities will have to suffer before progressive prosecutors admit it."

"This week a Washington Post puff piece leaped to the defense of the progressive district attorneys propelled into office by the campaign cash of billionaire George Soros, portraying these prosecutors as well-meaning reformers besieged by racist Republicans.

"But while Soros’ left-wing fans thrill to the way his funding has fundamentally transformed criminal justice across America, here’s what they won’t acknowledge: The results have been disastrous.

"Through both direct and indirect donations, Soros has poured money into a staggering number of DA races across the country.

"By 2023, progressive prosecutors had jurisdiction over at least 20% of the US population, and half of Americans living in its biggest cities, reports Matt Palumbo in his book “The Heir.”

"Soros-funded district attorneys have won in Tampa Bay, Denver, Orlando, Northern Virginia, Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Philly, St. Louis, Dallas and many others; 126 of them have held office at some point, per the Media Research Center.

"Over the past decade, Soros’s Justice and Public Safety PAC alone has spent money in at least 62 primary and general elections, according to the WaPo report, winning 77% of the time — without having to lay out much to tilt those typically low-spending local elections.

. . . "Back in 2016, Politico wrote of Soros’ “quiet overhaul of the US justice system,” describing how he recognized DA races as an untapped opportunity to remake cities according to his progressive ideology.

"Soros realized these races are particularly vulnerable to outside influence: Few voters know who their district attorney is, despite the DA’s major role in shaping crime enforcement.

"As Soros spokesman Michael Vachon admitted, “We started a movement . . . the knee-jerk, so-called tough-on-crime philosophy has been discredited in many communities.”

"He is right, and the results are catastrophic.

"The foundational belief these progressive DAs share is that systemic social change, not aggressive prosecution, is the answer to crime.

"This ideology fit perfectly with the ascension of woke politics, which blamed problems on systems and focused on identity above all else.

"That’s why the core of their radical criminal justice reform involved eliminating cash bail, declining to prosecute minor offenses, and drastically limiting the use of sentencing enhancements such as “three strikes.” . . .  More...

Videos show Toronto contractor driving snowplow through pro-Palestinian demonstration

 CBC News   

"Police have not charged driver who appears to have been doing taxpayer-funded work when incident happened"

"Videos posted on social media show the driver pilot their orange Kubota tractor right through the crowd that had gathered on the sidewalk. One protester is seen trying to clear the way, while another briefly grabs the front plow before jumping out of the way. 

“What the f--k is wrong with you?” one protester can be heard saying as another person in the crowd smacks the plow’s salter with a sign.

"A photograph from the scene shows the driver giving the crowd the middle finger.

"Omar Mahmoud, one of the protesters that night, told CBC Toronto the group was chanting demands for changes to the U.S. plan for Gaza, when the lights of the plow approached and fear set in.

”When you are a Palestinian in this community you are always afraid of these things happening. Your worst assumptions come through,” he said. “It’s still shocking that this happened.”

"The vehicle has signage for A&F Di Carlo Construction, one of the companies contracted to do snow-clearing work in the City of Toronto. The plow’s salter has City of Toronto signage.

"Fausto Di Carlo, spokesperson for A&F Di Carlo Construction Inc., said in a statement Thursday the company is aware of the "unfortunate incident" involving its sidewalk plow equipment.

"Di Carlo said its crew was on a "preseason practice run" required by its contract. It had notified the city but was not told about "any unusual activity" in the area.

" 'Our operator was trying to do her job under difficult circumstances and feared for her personal safety. She had no other option but to remove herself from the situation slowly and carefully which is what she did. We note that police who were on-site had no concerns with her actions," Di Carlo said." . . .

John Rieti started with CBC News in 2008 as a Peter Gzowski intern in Newfoundland, and holds a master of journalism degree from Toronto Metropolitan University. As a reporter, John has covered everything from the Blue Jays to Toronto city hall. He now leads a CBC Toronto digital team that has won multiple Radio Television Digital News Association awards for overall excellence in online reporting.

Iranian-Run, Soros-Funded Billboards Urge Soldiers to Disobey Orders

 Daniel Greenfield  

"Americans may not be living the American Dream anymore, but it’s still possible for two foreigners to live the dream of a million dollar Victorian house in a mostly white area, a lavish wedding and a career track of working to destroy America and the rest of the free world."

"Billboards are popping up outside Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune urging soldiers to disobey orders. “Marines: Not what you signed up for?” asks one. “Did You Go Airborne Just To Pull Security for ICE?” asks another one. The website urges soldiers to use encryption and offers ‘counselling’ on ‘disobeying immoral orders’. The organizations offering ‘counselling’ to soldiers include the National Lawyers Guild: a Communist organization which also defends Antifa.

"The billboards are promoting a system that, in its own words, is “built to connect active duty, national guard, and reserve members of the military with key resources on responding to unlawful orders”. What that means is members of the military will be potentially discussing their orders with members of radical leftist groups sympathetic to America’s enemies.

"This is not only sedition; it’s a national security threat.

" ‘Win Without War’, the group behind the ads, had been created as a front group full of young photogenic diverse figures by the Center for International Policy (itself created by the Institute for Policy Studies, to oppose the Vietnam War and any resistance to Communism) which has sponsored trips by members of Congress to Cuba, and is funded by Soros and the Rockefellers.

"The radical leftist group also announced that it’s standing with the ‘Sedition Six’ in urging troops to disobey orders and circulating a letter stating that “we the people have their backs.”

"Who is “we the people”? An Iranian immigrant who defends Iran and hates America." . . .More...

Daniel Greenfield is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. This article previously appeared at the Center's Front Page Magazine.

Crazy teachers, crazy principals, crazy country

 Mike McDaniel    "Floyd once held a gun to the belly of a pregnant woman during a robbery. This is the kind of man Mannon considers a friend?  The kind of person she wants her students to emulate?"

. . . "Declaring “George Floyd is my friend” demonstrates a deplorable, but all too common, disconnection from reality. Floyd was a convicted felon and drug addict who so badly damaged his body it was that damage, not the Minneapolis Police Department’s official restraint technique, that killed him when he was arrested for trying to pass counterfeit money. Floyd once held a gun to the belly of a pregnant woman during a robbery. This is the kind of man Mannon considers a friend?  The kind of person she wants her students to emulate?

"Mannon is clearly an example of what’s wrong with American K-12 education apparatus, and it’s unsurprising people like her are principals in Oregon. The state’s lack of educational accomplishment speaks volumes. She’s certainly not the only example, there or elsewhere

"If Mannon is an example of what is now, by default or purpose, acceptable educational leadership, one thing seems certain: we’re not going to make it." . . .

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor. 

No Kings=crazy teachers

Lucy Martinez was allegedly videoed making gestures seemingly alluding to Kirk's assassination at a protest, identified as a 'No Kings' rally, at the weekend.

A video went viral online of a woman, who social media users soon identified as Martinez, pointing her finger at her neck with her thumb in the air, in a gesture that mimics a gun. 

She raised and lowered her finger to her neck while appearing to mouth the word 'bang.'

Her movements appeared to mock the death of 31-year-old Kirk, who was fatally shot in the side of his neck at Utah Valley University in September. 

According to one social media user, the person recording the video was in a truck with a Kirk flag on it.