ALERT! There are some sites, including Yahoo.com that have popups that look very convincing to immediately download a Critical Firefox or Chrome update. Then a download box appears with an option to run or save the update named somefilename.js. Again, it looks really legit, but it is not!
- The download box will never just automatically appear at legitimate sites, you would have to click to start the download in most cases.
- Real browser updates are .exe files, never .js - that is a javascript that will most likely install something very bad into your browser.
- Check the URL (www .xxx .com) Chrome is google.com and Firefox is mozilla.org
These simple things to watch for will always save you in the end.
Government Agencies will not contact you via telephone or E-mail to settle an outstanding issue, including any payment or fee!
The IRS scam calls have never gone away. Now, however, the calls are supposedly coming from the U.S. Treasury Department or your local Sheriff’s Office. These calls are from scammers, mostly calling from outside the United States, who rout the call through a U.S. Area Code to add legitimacy and fool consumers. They are meant to frighten and scare consumers into acting compulsively by providing a credit card or buying a ‘Green Dot’ money card to make an arrest warrant go away or avoid a court appearance.
Check out this really good article about phone scams ... from Background Checks.org
Stay safe, Stay secure, Stay alert!
Easy steps to insure safety during internet travel and transactions:
Redirection
When using a secured site, always check the status bar to make sure the link you have clicked is where you are being directed to. Our secured server is hosted Intersessions.com, so that should be the first address you see in all of our secured page redirection, if not, cancel the transfer immediately and disconnect from the Internet!
We always think we could never be fooled by these clever scammers, but think again. They would not continue running the scam if it were not successful.
A recent wave of clients have contacted us after a "representative" from Microsoft, AOL or "The World Wide Web" have called them and told them that their computers were infected, and that they might be financially or even criminally liable for infecting others. The caller then instructs the computer user to log on to their computer, go to a special website and grants them access to their system, so they can fix it immediately.

A word of mouth recommendation from someone you know or trust can save you big time!
During our annual monsoons, damage is inevitable. Visits from fly-by-night roofing and general contractors are also an annual event. Make sure you stay safe from scams and disreputable contractors by only choosing someone to do the work that you have completely vetted or who has been recommended by someone you trust.