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Scammers impersonate well-known companies, recruit for fake jobs on LinkedIn and other job platformsFrom the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Protection BlogBy Larissa Bungo, Senior Attorney, Federal Trade Commission Aug 16, 2023 | posted by Conner Williams
Scammers are lurking on LinkedIn and other job sites, posing as “recruiters” for well-known companies. But instead of looking to hire you, they’re really looking to take your money and personal information. It starts with a direct message on a job search site like Indeed or LinkedIn. The... |
Watch out for automatic account renewal scamsJul 20, 2023 | posted by Conner Williams
Have you received an email or text message that looks like the image above? In this scam email that was sent to a BCT team member, the sender is posing as Norton, a company that offers anti-virus software. An invoice has been included in the email that details a subscription to "Norton 360... |
Tech Term of the Month - July 2023: DoS/DDoS AttackJul 19, 2023 | posted by Conner Williams
A Denial of Service or Distributed Denial of Service attack is an attempt to make a network-connected device or resource, like a computer or website, unavailable to its intended user(s). DoS/DDoS attacks usually target websites or services hosted on better-known web... |
Tech Term of the Month - June 2023: bit vs. ByteJun 21, 2023 | posted by Conner Williams
Two common terms in the tech world that often get confused in meaning are bits and Bytes. A bit (b) is short for binary digit, and bits are most commonly used to measure the rate of data transfer, like when transferring files from a USB flash drive to a computer.... |
Scammers Are Impersonating Best Buy’s Geek Squad: Here’s What You Need to KnowBy Office of the Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum Jun 19, 2023 | posted by Conner Williams
Don't fall for these phony Geek Squad invoices and customer service numbers. Consumers and small business owners are being targeted by a scam that involves fraudulent invoices and customer service numbers posing as Best Buy’s Geek Squad. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is urging... |
Watch Out for Gift Card ScamsMay 18, 2023 | posted by Conner Williams
Scammers continue to evolve their methods in the hopes of getting people to fall for their schemes, and sometimes they can be hard to spot. But one telltale sign of a scam is when someone asks you to pay for a service or help with a gift card. They might say to put money on a certain kind of... |
Tech Term of the Month - May 2023: HDMIMay 17, 2023 | posted by Conner Williams
HDMI stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface, and it's a connection method that transfers video and audio signals from a device to a TV screen or computer monitor. HDMI is the current standard to get the highest-quality video and audio content from devices like streaming sticks or boxes,... |
Be Careful When Using Public Device Charging PortsApr 20, 2023 | posted by Conner Williams
The list of things to be careful plugging into your devices grows as officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation warn travelers and shoppers to avoid public free phone charging ports. They warn that scammers or bad actors could use these ports, which usually include USB or USB-C, to... |
Keep Your Personal Information Safe When Spring CleaningApr 19, 2023 | posted by Conner Williams
Ashley found an old Roku in the back of the closet while she was spring cleaning. She had a neighbor that wanted one, so it seemed like a perfect fit. It seemed like the only thing to do was to plug it in and see if it still worked. Ashley was navigating through the settings... |
Tech Term of the Month - April 2023: WiFiApr 19, 2023 | posted by Conner Williams
We sometimes hear that internet service and WiFi are the same thing, but there is a distinct difference. Internet service is the signal sent from our central office to your home over either fiber lines or copper cabling. WiFi, on the other hand, is the wireless distribution of some of that... |
Call Before You Dig This Spring to Avoid Damaging Utility LinesMar 16, 2023 | posted by Conner Williams
Every digging job requires a call to 811 to have underground utility lines marked. In some cases, lines are buried close to the surface and could easily be damaged by even shallow digging, resulting in service interruptions to your neighborhood. When you call 811, simply tell the operator where... |
Tech Term of the Month - March 2023: EthernetMar 16, 2023 | posted by Conner Williams
Ethernet is a type of cable that allows devices to be physically connected to your home internet network. While most people connect their devices to the internet via WiFi, an Ethernet connection can also be used for some devices. This can provide a better experience because a physical... |
6 Digital Spring Cleaning Tips to Stay Organized and SecureMar 1, 2023 | posted by Conner Williams
Spring cleaning is a time when people take inventory of their homes and possessions and clean out any unnecessary clutter. It’s also a great time to do the same thing for your digital life by making sure your data is protected, passwords are updated, and app and program use is reevaluated. Check... |
Watch Out for "Account Suspended" ScamsFeb 15, 2023 | posted by Conner Williams
A new favorite tactic of scammers is to try and convince you that one of your accounts has been suspended and that you need to take action to regain access or lift the suspension. The image above is from an email recently received by a BCT staff member that says, in rather poor grammar, their... |
Tech Term of the Month - February 2023: Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)Feb 15, 2023 | posted by Conner Williams
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) or Two-Factor Authentication is an online account security protocol that adds an extra step to the login process to ensure the right person is accessing an account. MFA usually involves a code being sent to a smartphone or email address after the username and... |
Update Your Passwords to Keep Accounts SecureFeb 1, 2023 | posted by Conner Williams
Today on National Change Your Password Day, we want to share a few tips for creating strong passwords, keeping them secure, and most importantly, remembering all of them. Try to use a pass phrase rather than a pass word. Pick a 4-5 word phrase, and then include capital letters and symbols... |
A Note About Third-Party Bill Pay VendorsJan 24, 2023 | posted by Conner Williams
We want to make it as easy as possible for members to pay their BCT bill. Our team would like to make members aware of various third-party online bill pay services that claim you can pay your BCT bill through their website. While some of these websites are legitimate, they may charge extra fees... |
'Tis the season to spot and avoid gift card scamsBy By Kira Krown, Federal Trade Commission Consumer Education Specialist Dec 12, 2022 | posted by Conner Williams
Article courtesy of the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Advice blog Looking for a New Year’s resolution? Here’s one for you: Keep your hard-earned money safe from scammers by spotting and avoiding gift card scams. Then help others spot and avoid them, too. Scammers want you to pay with gift... |
Organize Your Computer on National Clean Out Your Virtual Desktop DayOct 18, 2021 | posted by Conner Williams
Is your computer's desktop full of cluttered shortcuts that are difficult to navigate? Does the above image of a scattered desktop make you as uncomfortable as us? Today is a great day to organize your virtual life as it's National Clean Out Your Virtual Desktop Day! To celebrate, consider... |