Better Beware! – WFHB

What are the Facts? Who can you believe? Sometimes news sources can be hard to trust, but have no fear. Here are some ways to check the facts and make up your mind.

Monday October 5th is the deadline to register to vote in November’s Election — and to apply for an absentee ballot if you want to stay home this year and stay safe from COVID-19. Here’s timely information, and ways to avoid some surprising problems.

There is a lot of fraud going around that relates to the Election — but it’s not fraudulent voting, it’s scammers trying to keep you from voting! Or steal your identity…or your money. Watch out for them, starting right now.

Fake demands to buy non-existant home test kits for COVID-19, a new way to turn your digital wallet into a money laundry, thousands of flood-damaged cars hitting the market, and a great website to help fight scammers!

Here is a list of basic Do’s and Don’ts that everyone needs to remember to stay safe in our modern world. Let’s start with some things NOT to do…

Everyone should be wearing a face mask in public these days, but not all of them work. Here’s a summary of test results on various kinds of masks, and a simple way to test any mask.

The scammers are working faster than the health authorities — fake messages and phone calls from phony “contact tracers” are trying to steal your identity…and maybe your money, too. Here’s how to recognized the crooks.

Google recently discovered 25 nasty apps that had been in their Play Store quite awhile and downloaded 2 million times. Find out if you got one of these! And here’s a wonderful resource from the Federal Trade Commission to help you identify all the current Covid-19 con games.

Phone scammers who threaten you are now insisting you don’t hang up until you send the money; people have been getting mysterious packets of seeds in the mail, and phone apps from Presidential campaigns have big differences. Three things to watch out for!

Digital Assistants can be anywhere, are getting to be everywhere, and can be turned on when nobody realizes it. Ordinary language mistaken for a “wake word” can mean your privacy has just disappeared. Here’s what to watch out for. [English Majors: I dangled that participle deliberately. So there.]