Teri's CyberTips - May 2017

WATCH OUT FOR PHONEY BALONEY SURVEYS!

You see them all the time - your in box is filled with invitations to take an on-line survey and end up with a check or discount coupon. The genuine surveys are usually more cost-effective for researchers in their quest to contact people and collect data.

But interspersed with the good guys - are the bad guys looking to do evil things to you. Their quest is to put their grimy paws on your credit card or banking information so they can drain money from your accounts - or pretend they are you and buy lots of stuff with your credit card information, then quickly disappear with you holding the bag.

The good people from highya have a wealth of valuable knowledge at their site including information on survey fraud. They advise that "-- if you still want to pursue making money by taking on-line surveys, consider taking surveys for money as an interesting, part-time or occasional side job" But we'd guess that our readers aren't big survey takers. If our guess is right, pass this on to the kids - or to people who have a lot of time on their hands. Click Here for This Cyber Trick We are pleased to be of service to our friends and to provide you with these monthly CyberTips. We are always current on ways to expand our normal high standards of service with the very latest internet and other cyberspace strategies and tools. Please contact us with any questions regarding our services. Our contact information is below.

		NEW DASHBOARD PROTECTS KIDS ON THE INTERNET! Huge numbers of kids spend lots of hours on their tablets looking at - who knows what? This is because many parents get their children a tablet figuring that it will help them get smarter - quicker - and out of their hair. "Here 'tis Sonny - now go in the other room, be quiet, get smart - and get out of my hair." The folks at Amazon came up with a kid's edition tablet to help give parents a little peace of mind. This is because the device comes loaded with thousands of approved books and web sites that have been vetted. The parents are given a web site "parent dashboard" that allows them to control what can be accessed from each tablet and track each child's on-line activity including what they visit and how long they spend there. A little peace-of-mind from the good folks at Amazon. Click Here for This Cyber Trick Copyright © 2017 All Rights Reserved Google Search Wikopedia Weather Get a Human Stock Quotes Amazon e-Bay Internet Movie Database YouTube
WHY YOUR FICO SCORE IS SO IMPORTANT! Maybe not you - but a lot of people would stammer and stutter if asked to define the term "FICO" - and its importance to your financial health. "FICO" is a series of credit scoring models used by credit bureaus, lenders, and car-insurance companies to demonstrate how likely you are to pay back your debts on time or, in the case of car insurance companies, how likely you are to tip over a hydrant. There are five main categories that fall into play in calculating your FICO scores according to reporter J.R. Duren: Payment history (35%); Credit utilization (30%); Credit length (15%); New credit (10%) and Type of credit (10%). FICO scores range from 300 to 850, ranging from Poor at 579 0r lower to High at 800. The higher your score the better opportunity you have to obtain the lowest possible interest rates and the best offers on credit cards and loans Ninety of the nation's top hundred lenders use FICO scores when figuring out what terms to offer you - so it makes a lot of sense to stay on top of your score. You can get your current FICO score without cost or obligation at Discover.com (even if you are not a Discover card user). Nice folks those Discover people. Click Here for This Great Place	HOW TO HACK PROOF YOUR SMART PHONE! A smart techie named Kim Komando doles out lots of good security information. Recently she tackled smart phone security and the data breaches, ransom ware and phishing attacks we hear so much about. She claims that there are a lot of bad dudes after our information and that we even have worry about the CIA. She reports they have also been hacking our smart phones, TVs and other connected devices for years. Now that everyone is out to get us she suggests that you take the following steps to keep the rascals out of your phone: " Update your software " Keep criminals out of your phone " Use phone locating apps " Only download trusted apps " Turn off app notifications " Use a password manager " Set up a VPN when using public Wi-Fi For good advice and details visit Kim's timely article. Keep the bad guys at bay. Click Here for This Great Pla