Mails with serious content in an official tone, final notices or seemingly technical issues are enough to unsettle most readers. Often, this is an attempt at cheating you out of your money as I described last week. How can you catch on to the scammers, where do they give themselves away? The first step is to realize that your personal information is already in the wrong hands.
moreHave you heard of Major Abacha Tunde? This brave Nigerian man has been spending his life on a Russian secret space station since 1990 and can only see his beloved home from orbit. Unfortunately, he cannot come home because his country doesn't have the foreign exchange to bring him back. Tragic isn't it? But you can help him and make it rich in the process! This good man naturally cannot spend his luxurious salary (no duty free shops in space) and Amazon only delivers world-wide. For only a few thousand Euros you can help Major Abacha Tunde get back to earth - and collect a giant yield. Don't believe me? Good for you! This is just one bizarre example of a phishing mail meant to cheat you out of your money. Read on to learn what phishing is all about!
moreThere I was standing in the flat countryside looking at my cellphone when - dare I write it - the unthinkable happened, I was offline. No business mails, no friends to chat with on Whatsapp and the blog was suddenly far far away. With mixed feelings, I looked around, saw cows, wind turbines, the gray sky and not a soul. No vibrations would announce the arrival of a new message, no delicate ping would direct my attention to important company news. Alone, offline with only the wind in my face and some unexpected peace and quiet.
moreMy beloved Samsung S4 mini hasn't aged well over the years. Buttons are loose, the Android version feels ancient and the battery is on its last legs. What to do? Certainly not spend $600 on a high-end cellphone, my contract didn't warrant any subsidized replacement so I ventured into the legendary realm of China cellphones! The risk: These phones are not made for Western markets and there are no official distribution channels. Read on to learn about the entailing disadvantages and why I've begun to feel slightly paranoid.
moreLately, almost whimsical things have been happening at the desk next to mine. Complete strangers are coming into our office, get placed in front of a PC and are then drilled with questions while using an Ashampoo application. Sometimes, things are more relaxed and you can almost detect a sense of timidity in their clicking but other times it's a clicking frenzy like rapid gun fire. Once that person left, there's always the same questions: "Who was that?" or "What was he doing here?" that are met with responses like "My neighbor.", "A friend." or "A long-time customer from around here.". But what are all these people doing here?
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