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Ask HN: Protect loved ones from online scams?

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Re: Ask HN: Protect loved ones from online scams?

#21

Post by nl »

carlesfe wrote: post #20

My mother is a daily user of the internet with extremely limited knowkedge and she has difficulty understanding even basic computer messages. I designed a series of rules + practices which are stated as absolutes (i.e. no margin for interpretation) and they have worked well: 1. All emails with claims are false, even if I send them. Not only spam but also "snopes-like" scams from her friends. This rule always has prec…

IPads work quite well for older users. They don't solve the password problem, but at least some of the other problems are avoided.

Re: Ask HN: Protect loved ones from online scams?

#22

Post by nl »

frik wrote: post #18
Animats wrote: post #3

What really irks me is getting an email like this: Shipping account suspended Dear XXXX, FedEx shipping privileges for account number ending in NNNN have been suspended. To access and update your credit card data, log in to FedEx® Billing Online. Log in today (Button) This just screams "scam", especially since I haven't used the FedEx account in months. When I log into FedEx (not using the link in the email), my acco…

Everyone knows that such spam mails are NOT sent by the company, but by scammers. Look at the raw email header. So why is this comment on top? It seems HN got mainstream and with it the usefulness is declining - low quality comments staying on top that can be answered by common sense.

Generally it's good to assume that Animats knows more about how the internet works than you do, especially if it is something related to networks.

Re: Ask HN: Protect loved ones from online scams?

#23

Post by carlesfe »

nl wrote: post #21
carlesfe wrote: post #20

My mother is a daily user of the internet with extremely limited knowkedge and she has difficulty understanding even basic computer messages. I designed a series of rules + practices which are stated as absolutes (i.e. no margin for interpretation) and they have worked well: 1. All emails with claims are false, even if I send them. Not only spam but also "snopes-like" scams from her friends. This rule always has prec…

IPads work quite well for older users. They don't solve the password problem, but at least some of the other problems are avoided.

She likes the big screen of her 24" imac. But when it breaks down I'll definitely get her an ipad. She took a long time before getting into the smartphone world, but she loves her iphone, especially Siri.

Re: Ask HN: Protect loved ones from online scams?

#24

Post by jsingleton »

apexalpha wrote: post #11

I have locked down their OS's with Unchecky, UAC to full, non-Admin accounts, all Win10 (love the forced updates). Installed a PiHole to clear all their devices from malicious ads / malicious url's. Seriously, since I installed PiHole my maintanance visits / calls have dropped by 90%. They don't use a CC. Maybe once a year for flight tickets but I tell them to check the URL / https. And I've told them 100 times: comp…

+1 for Pi-hole: https://pi-hole.net

It's better than a browser extension, as it works for mobile devices and native apps (e.g. Skype). Remember to set a backup secondary DNS server in case it goes down though.

If the router allows changes to the DHCP DNS settings then make them there. Some don't, so then you'll need to use the Pi for DHCP too.

However, keep in mind that it provides an unauthenticated web interface that exposes all domains that have been visited. This could be a privacy risk. It's pretty easy to simply use dnsmasq on its own if you don't want the extras.

You can also use this technique to make some news sites less annoying: https://unop.uk/block-bbc-breaking-news-on-all-devices

No, BBC News still doesn't support HTTPS (it's now over 6 months later than they said it would).

Re: Ask HN: Protect loved ones from online scams?

#25

Post by muzani »

Animats wrote: post #3

What really irks me is getting an email like this: Shipping account suspended Dear XXXX, FedEx shipping privileges for account number ending in NNNN have been suspended. To access and update your credit card data, log in to FedEx® Billing Online. Log in today (Button) This just screams "scam", especially since I haven't used the FedEx account in months. When I log into FedEx (not using the link in the email), my acco…

I got a similar dodgy looking email from Dell. It was from some different e-mail address (dellteam.com instead of dell.com). It was a failed transaction.

The email was completely dodgy, had several typos. There was a lack of instructions on what to do, just a "please contact us". I tried to contact customer service instead of the representative, but it was impossible because I needed an order code, which they never gave me. Emails to the individuals were never replied to and he insisted on only calling and handling a bank transfer over the phone.

The whole situation was very similar to a man in the middle attack.

It turned out to be legit, but the whole situation makes me never want to order anything from them again.

Re: Ask HN: Protect loved ones from online scams?

#26

Post by nl »

carlesfe wrote: post #23
nl wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IPads work quite well for older users. They don't solve the password problem, but at least some of the other problems are avoided.

She likes the big screen of her 24" imac. But when it breaks down I'll definitely get her an ipad. She took a long time before getting into the smartphone world, but she loves her iphone, especially Siri.

Maybe a large iPad Pro?

Re: Ask HN: Protect loved ones from online scams?

#27

Post by lathiat »

Something I try to do is whenever forever I spot an obvious facebook scam (share to win free vouchers or holiday or something) -- I explain in the comment to that person exactly what I saw that makes me suspect it's a scam.

It's a subtle way to educate without "telling" which puts alot of people of. For more direct approaches, see some of the other comments about rules for his mother, etc. :)

I find this helpful as 90% of the time these scams are super obvious to me but not others, so I try to share that knowledge.

Re: Ask HN: Protect loved ones from online scams?

#28

Post by noir_lord »

carlesfe wrote: post #20

My mother is a daily user of the internet with extremely limited knowkedge and she has difficulty understanding even basic computer messages. I designed a series of rules + practices which are stated as absolutes (i.e. no margin for interpretation) and they have worked well: 1. All emails with claims are false, even if I send them. Not only spam but also "snopes-like" scams from her friends. This rule always has prec…

I put my mum on Linux Mint, hid the menu launcher and put icons for all the stuff she uses on her desktop, set updates to automatic and put her on a Gmail account on a domanin I own.

That and a basic crash course in treat everything as suspicious unless you know it isn't has sufficed so far.

If she has any doubts she just rings me but that's rare.

Re: Ask HN: Protect loved ones from online scams?

#29

Post by nothrabannosir »

frik wrote: post #18
Animats wrote: post #3

What really irks me is getting an email like this: Shipping account suspended Dear XXXX, FedEx shipping privileges for account number ending in NNNN have been suspended. To access and update your credit card data, log in to FedEx® Billing Online. Log in today (Button) This just screams "scam", especially since I haven't used the FedEx account in months. When I log into FedEx (not using the link in the email), my acco…

Everyone knows that such spam mails are NOT sent by the company, but by scammers. Look at the raw email header. So why is this comment on top? It seems HN got mainstream and with it the usefulness is declining - low quality comments staying on top that can be answered by common sense.

For the record, that's John Nagle:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagle%27s_algorithm

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