Online shopping tip and sextortion update
Since most of us are shopping online more these days, there is a nice app called Honey that helps us save money by applying the best discounted codes for our online purchases.
Honey is a free tool that with one click automatically applies the Internet’s best promo code right in your online shopping cart. Estimates have shown that the average user is saving about $126 a year or about 18% off purchases.
You can access Honey by adding it to your computer. Honey works with Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari and Opera and it was pretty easy to install. I performed a Google search on how to install Honey on my browser. You do have to add an extension to your browser for it to show up. You know it’s on your computer when you see an “h” button on your toolbar.
To use Honey, when you’re in your online shopping cart after adding your purchases, click on the discounts or promo box and then click on the “h” on your toolbar. Honey automatically does a search for any discounts that might be available for the products you’re purchasing. It can take about 30 seconds for Honey to run through its search and it doesn’t always find a better deal but when it does, the savings are applied instantly.
Honey is free for members but does make a small commission from merchants when it finds you savings. The company was just purchased by PayPal so we will probably be hearing a lot more about it.
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SEXTORTION EMAILS INCREASE: I’ve received three calls from readers just this last week about sextortion scams. According to the FBI, these complaints rose 242% to over 51,000 reported crimes last year, with total losses of $83 million.
Usually these are extortion campaigns in which victims receive an email threatening to send a pornographic video of them or other compromising information to family, friends or employers if a ransom is not paid. These criminals are attempting to use shame as a way to get victims to comply because crooks have discovered this is a great way to extort money from their targets.
What makes these emails particularly troublesome is a victim’s real password is revealed in the subject line in an attempt to establish authenticity. But usually the password is from an old account that hasn’t been used by the victim in a while. That’s because scammers can purchase email addresses and passwords from compromised accounts on the dark web for a few pennies but often the information is dated — a good reminder to change your passwords regularly.
With this type of scam, the crook sends out an email in a form letter format that claims they have evidence of your affairs or have hacked your webcam to take damning photos or videos of you. They also try to convince you that they have gathered every one of your contacts and will send out the information unless you pay up.
One reader said she was told to pay a $1,900 ransom in the form of bitcoin if she didn’t want compromising photos revealed. Bitcoin is asked for because it is a form of payment that is like cash in that it isn’t traceable. So once the bitcoin has been sent to the con artist, the victim will not recover those funds.
Here are a few things you can do to help protect yourself from this type of scam:
•Ignore it and update your spam filters so the filters catch the latest versions of these types of scams.
•Regularly change your passwords or use a password manager.
•Set up multifactor authentication, which gives you the option of using other ways to log in other than passwords.
Finally, you can report these emails to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at https://bit.ly/2RGMQtl ● ● ●
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DOWNGRADE CREDIT CARDS: If you’re paying annual fees on credit cards that you aren’t using much during the coronavirus pandemic, you might want to take a look at downgrading them. Typically cards with higher annual fees offer some great benefits and reward programs, but if those things are based on travel, dining and entertainment, there might not be much value right now.
Downgrading can help you switch to a more affordable card without closing your account. Switching to a lower fee card can save you money, which might make sense if you need to cut expenses. You should check with the card issuer to see if they allow you to downgrade a card that either lowers or eliminates your annual fee.
Here are three reasons why it might make sense to downgrade:
1. You’ll save money on annual fees. You’ll want to call your issuer to see if they have an annual fee card that offers similar benefits that may be eligible to downgrade to a lower fee card. This might impact your benefits so be sure to ask those questions.
2. You could protect your credit rating by avoiding closing out a credit card account. If you do cancel a credit card, that decision impacts three of the key components of your credit rating, which include credit utilization, length of credit and credit mix.
3. You could preserve your credit limit. With the current uncertainty, this could increase the need for access to a line of credit.
It’s a good idea to see how downgrading might impact your benefits. For example, check to see if you have to forfeit points/rewards that have already been earned. Also if you received a welcome bonus and recently signed up for a card, you might have to forfeit whatever perk you received if you request a downgrade.
If you are considering downgrading a credit card, the best thing to do is speak with your card issuer since they might be more flexible than usual.
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Remember: I’m on your side.
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If you have encountered a consumer issue that you have questions about or think our readers should know about, please send me an email at terridickersonadvocate@gmail.com or call me at (208) 274-4458. As The CDA Press Consumer Gal, I’m here to help. I’m a copywriter working with businesses on marketing strategy, a columnist, a veterans advocate assistant and a consumer advocate living in Coeur d’Alene.