Category: Internet Dangers

Gain some insights into the many hidden traps that exist when it comes to building an online platform. Learn about the scams that are out there. And learn how to protect yourself and your loved one online.

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Social Media: Is it the end of society?

Walking through the mall and heading to the grocery store, one thing has become blatantly obvious to me: smartphones are everywhere. And it's not just the youth.

Some years back (when my daughter was in her early teens), my husband, my daughter, and I decided to enjoy a nice lunch out together. At the table next to us was a couple in their 60s, and both of them were busy texting—or doing whatever—on their smartphones. Even my daughter commented on how they weren't talking to one another.

"Don't they like talking with one another, mum?"

I just shrugged in response and continued on with my conversation with my husband.

But that interaction got me thinking. Are smartphones and social media the end of our society?

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Private Message Marketing Reeks of Scams

If you’ve been around on the internet long enough, you have likely received unsolicited messages via direct messaging, be that through social media or email. It seems to be a rite of passage, telling you that your profile is starting to garnish attention. But after you get a few of those messages, you start to see the patterns of those who are pretending to be interested in what you are doing, only to try to sell you something.

I don’t know what it is about the publishing industry, but we seem to accumulate a lot of these. Some of them are obvious scams. And some of them are from people who are just starting out in whatever support role they have chosen to take on board to support writers. But those who are starting down the new business road, they clearly don’t understand marketing or how their tactics are making them look like a smarmy used-car salesman.

In today’s post, I want to discuss this type of marketing tactic and explain why it reeks of a scammer. And I want to explain why we should avoid using it ourselves, regardless of what we’re selling (be that books or services).

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Using stock images doesn’t mean your covers are AI-generated

I'm not going to argue that the introduction of AI-generated material has changed how we view things. From copyright to the quality of images and writing, systems like ChatGPT and Midjourney have been a game-changer. I'm not going to even talk about the ethics that revolve around using such systems. No, that is a discussion for another day.

But the technology, or more appropriately the lack of understanding of the technology, has led to some ludicrous statements.

How would you react if someone tried to tell you that because your covers used images found in a stock photography website catalog that your covers were AI-generated? That because the fonts used on your covers were in a catalog on the internet that your covers were AI-generated? Oh, and because the graphic designer used Adobe Photoshop to create the cover makes that cover AI-generated?

Well, if you were me during that conversation, you would have had a field day.

Let me set the stage.

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Nothing is set in stone

When talking about a writer's platform, there is one thing that I say over and over.

Nothing is set in stone.

A writer's platform changes with the times. It changes and grows as a writer changes and grows. As the technology changes, so too do our online activities.

And the past few years have seen so many changes within my own platform that I wanted to take the time and highlight how we have to be prepared to just go with the flow.

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We let them in: Malware scams

How many times have you received a phone call from some random number that is actually a computerized voice on the other end of the line? "Hello. This is Visa." That's normally when I just hang up.

I get them often enough that now I tend not to even answer the landline during my workday. I just let it go through to the answering machine… and the scammer always hangs up before it gets to the recording part of the message.

But on the odd occasion when I have picked up the phone, there have been times when I have gotten a real person on the other end of the line. Normally, they start by saying that they're from Microsoft and that they've detected a problem with my computer.

And this is when I tend to have a little fun.

"Well, that's interesting. Why would Microsoft be calling me when I have a Mac?" I don't have a Mac, but the person on the other end of the line doesn't know that.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm from Mac." And yes, I really did have some scammer try to tell me this at one point. It was beyond laughable.

"Oh… Then you might be able to help me with my Linux machine." And I was having so much fun sending that scammer around in circles.

But in the end, I got bored. "Look, dude, I know you're some asshole trying to get into my system. You can try all you'd like. It's not going to happen." Then I hung up.

The persistent bugger kept trying to call back. I'd pick up the phone and instantly hang up. But after the sixth call within a span of 15 minutes (not an exaggeration… I was counting, because I was getting ready to put in a formal complaint with my phone company and have the number blocked), I decided to let it go through to the answering machine. While my voice was giving the instructions about leaving a message, the prick on the other end of the line was shouting in his thick foreign accent: "Ma'am, you need to listen to me. There really is something wrong with your computer." And he hung up as soon as the beep indicated that the answering machine was recording the message.

The gull of some people. Yet, there are enough people who fall for the scam to make it worth their while.

Today, I want to talk about the malware scams, because all of these phone calls are about trying to deposit some malware onto your machine, so they can do damage later.

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