The Friday Bulletin March 4, 2022

by admin

Be on the alert for a Sim Swap.

  • A Sim Swap happens when a scammer gathers personal details about someone they’ve targeted. The scammer then contacts the victim’s mobile telephone provider.
  • The scammer convinces the telephone company to transfer the victim’s mobile telephone number to the scammer’s SIM. This is done by the scammer impersonating the victim and using personal details to appear authentic and claiming that they have a new phone, and they need the SIM card transferred.
  • There have been cases where the telephone company employees have been bribed by the scammers to transfer the SIM.
  • Once the scammer has the SIM, the victim loses the use of their phone, and the scammer will receive all phone calls and texts going to that number. From those calls and texts, the scammers hope to intercept passwords and one time-passwords sent by text or telephone calls.
  • Because many services allow password resets with only access to a recovery phone number, the scammers are allowed access to almost any account tied to the number they’ve hijacked.

How to protect yourself:

  • Have a hard-to-guess PIN number to gain access to your phone (not the last four digits of your SS #, or your birth date).
  • Download your provider’s mobile app to stay up to date on security alerts and updates.
  • If you stop receiving texts and phone calls, contact your wireless provider immediately.
  • Follow your provider’s security advice and use the tools they provide such as multi-factor authentication.
  • Be alert to any “phishing” attempts – a call, email or text message asking for your SS #, or a portion of it, a bank account number, your driver’s license number or any other identifiers or financial details that the scammer could use to impersonate you to your provider.
  • Keep personal details like your birth date, your mother’s maiden name or the make of your first car off social media.
  • Read the FTC guidelines on preventing identity theft

 

Watch this video to see what happens when a passer-by (who happens to play Christine in the Phantom of the Opera in London), asked a busker (British word for someone who entertains in public places) to sing a song from Phantom of the Opera. You’ll get weepy.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxm5pJsgKVo

 

Jiggy Puzzles is a female-founded jigsaw company.  It supports and highlights the work of female artists.  Each JIGGY puzzle comes in a reusable glass jar and includes a tube of puzzle glue, a straight-edge tool to spread the glue and a print of the art to follow.  If you want to frame the puzzle, the website sells frames as well.  The puzzles come in either 800 pieces or 450 pieces.  There is a biography of the artist with each design.  $40.00 for the 450-piece puzzles and $49.00 for the 800-piece puzzles.

 

Have you wondered how people assigned individual ring tones to special folks in their contact list?

On an iPhone –

Select a contact from your Contact list.  Click ‘edit’ at top right and scroll down to ‘Ringtone”.  Click on that and select the ring tone you want.

On an Android –

Touch the contact you want to assign a specific ringtone.  Touch ‘More’ to display additional options.  Swipe from bottom to top to access all available options, touch ‘Ringtone’ and select one of the ringtones from the list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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