Bloky ‑ (Not) Protect your Store and other Shopify Protector Services

Web Content Protectors:While I was searching for images for a reverse Google search to find products, I encountered a particular webpage that caused some annoyance. It happened to be a website hosted on Shopify. Whenever I attempted to access the developer tools to inspect the images, the page would swiftly redirect to a blank page or revert to the previous page.Clearly, this behavior was a result of some JavaScript code attempting to discern my intentions, despite my genuine lack of any malicious intent. My sole purpose was to conduct product research, and I had no intention of pilfering any information or images from the site. Fortunately, Chrome provides an option to disable JavaScript for specific websites under "Privacy & Security" -> "Site Settings" -> "JavaScript," allowing...

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Legally Getting out of a Door-to-Door Company Contract

Disclaimer: This post is an opinion article and is not legal advice. If you need legal assistance, please contact an attorney directly.  The Door-to-door Salesperson Most of us in some way connect and sympathize with door-to-door salespeople. They are out in the elements, working hard to put bread on their tables. The conversation begins with a smile as the salesperson wants to ask you a question or show you something or asks you for a favor. Then comes the pitch. Possibly doubt creeps in as we try to weigh out the situation, ask questions, and peruse the contract, we gain confidence and sign. A few days later we see the bill on our credit card or bank account and you start to worry, possibly even feeling a little buyer's remorse. You call the company to cancel your contract as your...

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Disneyland 4 Free Tickets: Facebook Scam

Scam Score: 100 (Severe Risk) Background Recently I found this being shared on Facebook. It appeared quickly as an obvious scam but I followed the link to see more evidence of the scam. You can see quickly that the coupon was composited in a hurry and without much thought to design. The most important parts to Disney is going to be their logo, which is obviously skewed in this picture. This picture also happens to be click-bait as it does not appear on the landing page. http://www.disneyland.com-present.com The landing page greeting the clicker displays all the common elements of a scam. A poorly designed web site, which Disney would never put their name on. A tickets remaining countdown (which randomly resets to one of several...

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Amazon.com Scam: ChiekoLtd@gmail.com

Background: As I was looking through various items on Amazon, I came across a very nice and expensive camera that was listed at $3,000 less than all other postings. The description said the camera was new and never used. The grammar and punctuation were terrible. The description concluded with specifying that all buyers should contact ChiekoLtd@gmail.com before ordering. Seeing as how this is not normal Amazon behavior and in fact violates their policies, I decided to look up the company online (they appeared reputable and have been around for a while) and contact their support staff directly. Their staff later responded saying that the listing was in fact due to their Amazon.com account being hacked. The company regained access to their Amazon account and removed the product. Curiously...

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Prescription Assistance Services: Is it a scam?

Background:  In the mail recently, I received a letter and pharmacy discount cards for a company called Prescription Assistance Services. The letter spells out the terms of these cards as pre-activated, and no fee discount cards. We've seen something very similar before with RX Relief Pharmacy Discount Card / Healthcare Alliance. My words of caution still hold true as I mentioned in the RX Relief Pharmacy Discount Card / Healthcare Alliance article, be weary of how your information is being used. Companies don't spend a lot of money marketing these for nothing...

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Email: Center Security (noreply@facebookalert.com) Scam

Scam Score: 85 (Severe Risk) Background: While reviewing emails in my inbox, I came across an email that was intended to look like Facebook warning me that a charge had been made on my account for 22.34 USD. The link provided for me to login to "Facebook" actually resolves to http://74.7.88.163/aboutes.php which is obviously not Facebook. This server also appears to be hosting the websites: websiteincomesuccess.com, www.leidschdagblad.nl, and www.tweetprocesor.com which are obviously not owned by Facebook and seem sketchy themselves. This email fails our tests by first, not identifying me personally. If anyone knows my name, it is Facebook (or at least the name I provide them). Second, the grammar and punctuation in...

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Net-Scams Scam Scores

New Scam Scores! To quickly summarize the legitimacy of scam, we will now be supplying a Net-Scams Scam Score. This score builds on top of the existing rules we previously established and sums a score from those rules. 50 pts ~ Responsible Party In all legit offers and giveaways, there will always a person or company held responsible for fulfillment of the prize. This company may or may not also handle inquires of possible participants. This responsible party must uphold their end of the agreement. 20 pts ~ Regulations and Tax Requirements Do not account for US tax requirements and regulations 10 pts ~ Professional Conduct Poor grammar used through out the site 10 pts ~ Server Location Servers located outside the United States are not able to be governed by US law. This...

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