Randy’s remedies: Oops! — I called the scam number

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SUPPORT By Randy McElveen The fact that you got tricked into calling a scammer’s phone number does not mean you’re stupid. It means the world has gott
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WSGeo, lmacri, rc primak, fisher75, Norio, geekdom

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Please note that the free version of Malwarebytes is also available on ninite.com which is an excellent site for software that is clean and free of unwanted add-ons. The pay version of Malwarebytes offers excellent continuous protection against malware.

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May I ask why would one go to some other website to download “Malwarebytes Free” software? It is a free download on their own website. (Although I have, on occasion, downloaded items from “softonic” and “CNET”)

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It only takes about three mouse clicks to downgrade the Free Trial to the Free Version.

That said, I would like to point out a risk in relying on an excellent free product from a company which also has paid versions. Case in point is the recent announcement from Macrium Reflect:

HERE

When not enough people pay for the upgrade to the Premium Editions, free products tend to go away. (BTW, Macrium Reflect is also abandoning its Lifetime License policy. It’s going over to an annual subscription and version number upgrade, starting on Jan. 1, 2024 or earlier. According to a gHacks article.) What is happening to Macrium Reflect can just as easily happen to Malwarebytes.

The Malwarebytes Premium program is an excellent security program and includes extra features not found in their free edition, FWIW. I use the free version and have done so for years.

-- rc primak

3 users thanked author for this post.

TechTango, windbg, wdburt1

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I would care vastly more about a security program like Malwarebytes getting regular upgrades than Macrium . I d/led the latest Macrium just to have, very good program but every time I pay for a program I come to find some regret, maybe I am a jinx .

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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Well said, Randy.  Needs to be said and repeated regularly to get through to the folks who trust too much.  From what I have seen and experienced myself, seniors are still the biggest target for scams via POTS, mobile phone, texting, and email.  The best protection against the scammers is what lies between ones ears, but it has to be exercised regularly.

 

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True in general, but social media and fintech app scams are rapidly increasing. These target primarily younger users, who have grown up with social media, phones and apps. So the message also applies to younger people who may not be wary enough of social media “friends”.

Charity appeals (I won’t name the brands, but there are apps and sites filled with these) are also not targeted primarily at older people. However, older people do fall for these scams in disproportionate numbers.

And crypto and NFT scams, perhaps the biggest scams out there today, do target younger people with newly earned or acquired money or investment gains. See Brian Livingston’s Public Defender article from today’s AskWoody Plus Newsletter. (It’s worth the subscription donation.)

-- rc primak

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Question: If the world has gotten stupid, then by the transitive property of mathematics (if a = b, and b = c, then a = c), don’t the people who have fallen for the scam = the world, and thus…

I’ll get my coat.

We are SysAdmins.
We walk in the wiring closets no others will enter.
We stand on the bridge, and no malware may pass.
We engage in support, we do not retreat.
We live for the LAN.
We die for the LAN.

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Much appreciate the perspective, on the previous generation, and their trust.
Likewise, the practical steps of what to do, when I fall for it. Now if I can just remember where I put this…

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