Byway’s Post

Top Tips to avoid being a victim of a SCAM: 1) Block unwanted calls and text messages. 2) Never give your personal or financial information in response to a request that you dont expect. Even if they claim to have 'secret' information on you. 3) Don't fall for their high pressure, 'must reply now', demands. Its all a trick. 4) Don't talk to people you dont know in person. They could be anyone. 5) Check our database for their email, username, phone number and Crypto address(and file a report!). You wont be the only target. 6) Be mindful of the information you share on social networks. Scammers can use this information against you. 7) If you're online dating, never, ever, send them money.

🎯 How I Outsmarted a Scammer on LinkedIn & You Can Too! Attention! I’m sure many of us use LinkedIn to connect with professionals, secure opportunities, and grow our careers. But what happens when a "golden" opportunity turns out to be a trap? Interest. It all started innocently enough. A seemingly reputable company messaged me, offering an exciting remote role with a lucrative pay package. Their profile looked solid well written job descriptions, endorsements, even a flashy website link. I was intrigued but cautious. I asked questions, received polished responses, and was just about ready to sign on the dotted line when something didn’t sit right. The recruiter’s urgency to seal the deal, especially when they mentioned that the role required an "upfront security deposit" paid in bitcoins of all things, made me pause. 🚩 They claimed the money was necessary to "secure company assets" while working remotely. A strange request, right? Decision. Instead of diving headfirst, I decided to dig deeper. I reverse-searched their images, investigated their so-called "employees," and checked company reviews. That’s when the cracks started showing. I found discrepancies in their claims, and the images they used were from random stock photos! 🚩 Further research revealed a web of lies, false promises, and even stories from others who had fallen victim to similar bitcoin payment schemes. I realized I was about to be scammed. Action. Rather than staying silent, I decided to report them and warn others. No one should feel ashamed to step back and ask more questions. Scammers are becoming more sophisticated, but we can outsmart them by staying vigilant and protecting ourselves. Always check, verify, and when something seems too good to be true it probably is. Let’s use LinkedIn to build genuine connections, not fall prey to these predators. 💪 #StayVigilant #LinkedInSafety #BewareOfScams #BitcoinScam #CareerSafety #OutsmartScammers #ScamAwareness #ProfessionalTips

🚨 The Other Side of "Work-When-You-Want" Jobs 🚨 In today's fast-paced digital economy, flexibility is the new currency. "Work-when-you-want" jobs are booming, promising people the chance to earn money on their own time by completing simple tasks like rating products or liking videos. But here’s the catch: threat actors use this trend to scam unsuspecting job seekers. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a 20,000% rise in “task scam” reports has been documented in just the past few years. Scammers dangle the promise of easy cash but slowly draw victims into their trap by paying small, believable rewards. Then comes the twist: victims are asked to deposit money to unlock larger payouts—only to see their deposits vanish. How these scams work: ⚠️ Unsolicited messages on WhatsApp, social media, or email offering "easy online jobs." ⚠️ Initial payments made in cryptocurrency (e.g., USDT or Ethereum) to build trust. ⚠️ Requests for deposits to unlock bigger earnings or task levels. ⚠️ Using fake company names like Amazon, Deloitte, or Airbnb to appear credible. Scammers prey on the need for flexible income, the thrill of quick payouts, and the addictive nature of completing tasks—similar to gambling. The impact? Over $41 million was stolen in just the first half of 2024 from task scams alone. Protect yourself and others: 🔒 Be wary of unsolicited job offers, especially those promising quick money for simple tasks. 🔒 Legitimate companies will never ask for deposits to access your earnings. 🔒 Avoid jobs paying exclusively in cryptocurrency. 🔒 Trust your instincts—if it feels too good to be true, it probably is. These scams exploit people financially and emotionally, undermining trust in genuine flexible work opportunities. Stay informed, share this post, and make it harder for scammers to prey on job seekers. 👉 Have you or someone you know encountered a suspicious job offer? Share your experience in the comments to help spread awareness! 💬 #JobSearch #ScamAlert #TaskScams #FlexibleWork #Cybersecurity

Today the Federal Trade Commission issued a consumer alert on romance induced crypto-related scams. The engaging and well written alert by Colleen Tressler of the Division of Consumer and Business Education explains: "No one thinks their online love interest is going to scam them, but scammers are good at what they do. They establish an emotional connection with you so you’re more likely to believe that they’re an expert in cryptocurrency investing, for example. But that online love interest is a scammer. People have lost tens of thousands ― sometimes millions — of dollars to romance scammers." Here is the full consumer alert 👇 Kudos to the FTC for including helpful red flags 🚩 It all starts with someone contacting you — seemingly at random — on social media. But they’ve done their homework, checking out your profile and other information on the platform. That helps them say the right things to build a relationship…and before you know it, your new friend is talking money. They want to help you invest your money in the crypto markets, or they say they can teach you how to do it. You might think they have your financial well-being in mind, but they don’t. They only care about their own financial well-being. No matter what they say, if someone you meet online says they want to help you invest in cryptocurrency, it’s an investment scam. Know this: 🚩 Scammers promise big profits. They might say they’ve made money this way before and that you will too, but it’s a lie. No one can guarantee profits in any investment. 🚩 Scammers say there’s no risk. But all investments have risks, including investments in the crypto markets. 🚩 Scammers say they can help you learn to invest. They’ll say they can teach you investment tricks, but they’re really leading you to a scam investment opportunity. You will lose the money you “invest.” 🚩 Scammers tell you how to send the money. Scammers want your money quickly, so they’ll steer you to gift cards, payment apps like Apple Pay, CashApp, PayPal, and Zelle, money wiring companies, or even crypto. But only scammers insist you send money this way.    📢 If you think someone you met on social media is a scammer, cut off contact. Tell the social media platform, and then tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. They even included this social media savvy language! "Share this post in your socials to alert your followers of this scam." 👏

SCAMMER PAGE ALERT! We have discovered a Facebook page that is impersonating our official Meta page. This fake page is attempting to deceive our users by pretending to be us and is involved in a money-making scheme that could potentially compromise personal information and finances. 🔴 How You Can Help 🔴 We need your assistance to take down this scammer FB page and protect our community. Please follow these steps to report the fraudulent page: 1️⃣ Go to the Scam Page or search for the page manually. 2️⃣ Click on the Three Dots (...): Located at the top right corner of the scammer's page. 3️⃣ Select "Find support or report Page": Choose the reason as "Scams and Fake Pages." 4️⃣ Follow the Prompts: Complete the report and submit. Your swift action is crucial in helping us maintain a safe and secure environment for all users. Every report counts! 🔒 Stay Safe Online 🔒 Never share your personal information with unofficial pages. Report any suspicious activity immediately. WE DO NOT ENGAGE IN IMMIGRATION SERVICES! ONLY TRANSACT WITH OFFICIAL EDI EMPLOYEES! WE DO NOT COLLECT PLACEMENT FEES OR ANY FEES! Be vigilant! Stay alert!

Just a reminder to all my friends out there... Be Careful of Scammers on LinkedIn. From what I can see, there are not many, compared to real people, but they are out there. THEY ARE IN IT FOR THE LONG GAME!!! Don't get sucked in. I recently had one. The red flags where many. - Somewhat new Profile (Under a week old) - Info and way they wrote was off (Possible AI and/or Translations) - Their business interest had nothing to do with their profile. - Asked me to do something illegal - Tried to push a radical view of our (USA) Politics - Asked me about using BTC to pay friends - Asked for contact info - Asked what payment platforms I use - They tried to hook into my want to help others. * Being an I.T. Security Professional, I tracked them to China, through 3 separate ways, not to in the USA like their Profile said. At first, I thought it was a person looking for genie help. I advised I would not, and they should not do anything illegal. The tone then changed. Moving to a more personal but still kinda business type of conversation. Later, they found me on another messaging platform and tried to move the conversation to a more romantic one. I blocked them on all platforms. Maybe this will help you see the scam before you get too tangled up. While I did not give much, I am still concerned about what they can do with what they got. These levels of scams are no joke. If they cannot get you to directly send money, they will come at you from other directs, like trying to hack into a bank account or any other service really. If they get any compromising data on you, they will use that to scare you into paying them. I know, I recently had a friend loss upward of 10k and almost his marriage over this exact type of scam. #ScamAlert

This is circulating in my network: Message from Anti-fraud Centre (Canada). Good day,  The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre is seeing an increase in job opportunity frauds. Overall reported losses to job fraud increased from 7 million in 2022 to 30 million in 2023. With close to 12 million lost in the first 3 months of 2024, the trend continues. According to victim reports, fraudsters are contacting victims via text message, WhatsApp, email or Messenger after the victim has shared their resume and contact information on job recruitment websites. Using the names of real companies in Canada, the fraudsters are offering victims freelance job opportunities to “boost” products, apps or videos using software created by the fraudsters. After the victim installs the software and creates an account, they receive “orders” or “tasks” they have to complete. Victims might receive a small payment or commission in order to convince them that the job is legitimate. Victims can earn higher commissions or “move up a level” by boosting more products or videos but need to pay fees to gain access to the additional work. Victims deposit their funds into crypto accounts or wallets. Victims may also be asked to recruit other victims in order to increase their earnings. Similar to crypto investment scams, victims will see funds in their crypto account, but will not have the ability to withdraw the funds they have deposited and earned. Please share this bulletin and social media posts to help spread awareness! Thank you, CAFC Team

how do we sort fake online money earning website Sorting through fake online money-earning websites requires a systematic approach to identify legitimate opportunities from scams. Here are several key criteria to consider: Research the Website: Start by checking the website's domain age and ownership using tools like WHOIS. Established websites with transparent ownership are generally more trustworthy. Look for Reviews and Testimonials: Search for independent reviews on platforms like Trustpilot or Reddit. Be cautious of overly positive testimonials on the site itself, as these can be fabricated. Evaluate the Business Model: Legitimate money-making opportunities typically involve a clear and realistic business model. If a site promises high returns for minimal effort, it’s likely a scam. Check for Contact Information: Authentic websites usually provide clear contact details, including a physical address and customer service options. Lack of transparency is a red flag. Analyze Payment Methods: Be wary of sites that require upfront fees or only offer payment through untraceable methods like cryptocurrency or gift cards. Legitimate platforms usually provide secure and recognized payment options. Review Terms and Conditions: A reputable site will have clear terms of service and privacy policies. If these documents are missing or vague, it’s a warning sign. Trust Your Instincts: If something feels off or too good to be true, it’s essential to proceed with caution. Scammers often use high-pressure tactics to rush decisions. By applying these criteria, you can better navigate the landscape of online money-earning opportunities and protect yourself from potential scams

So, it's part 2 of my crypto scams on LinkedIn series -- on account of the fact that neither Ledger nor LinkedIn seem to have taken my previous post seriously enough to do anything about it... which I must say disturbs and fascinates me in equal measure. Well, since nothing has been done about the situation, the scammers are back. And a fresh scam job advert (see graphic) has been posted this morning from what appears to be an official Ledger account, but which I am 99.99% certain is a spoofed corporate account -- as outlined in my prior post. The job ad has been up for an hour and has already attracted 19 applicants, which means that the scammers now have 19 fresh targets and counting, with all of their personal information (names, email addresses, telephone numbers, complete personal profiles, basically anything included in their résumés). If you were a major company operating in the crypto space, with a singular focus on keeping people's crypto assets safe and secure, and a scammer was passing themselves off as your company, harvesting personal information and attempting to scam people who use your product, what would you do if someone alerted you? Ignore the situation?... 🤯

Do You Know That A Russian Hacker Could Have Your Bank Account Details and Could Clean Out Your Bank Account Today? How strong is your bank password and do you have a 2 step authentication? A Russian hacker has opened bidding on 18,000 lines of Australian bank account details. Bank details up for auction include account numbers, BSBs, and a long list of employment data. A large amount of Australian bank account and employment details is currently being auctioned off on a Russian language hacking forum. The post was made on 29 May by a user called “litem” and is largely in Russian, except for the data on offer, which appears quite extensive. “AU Fullz + DL + AN/RN 18k lines,” the post is headed, referring to full details, driver’s licence numbers, account and bank routing numbers, and the amount of data – 18,000 lines. The body of the post simply lists the data available in the leak, which appears to be in two documents. One features names, addresses, driver’s licences, landline and mobile numbers, emails, employer and occupation details, as well as bank account numbers and BSBs. The second set of data appears to be mostly employment-related or real estate-related and lists length at residence, employer address, work phone numbers, employment verification number, monthly income, length of employment, months with bank, email details, and “secrets” – whatever that might be. Taken together, it appears to be rental application data, though without a sample of the data, it is impossible to confirm. “Not used, One-stop sale,” the post concluded (translated using Google Translate). “For suggestions also in PM.” After that comes the details of the auction, which lists three values: Start - 9k Step - 500$ Blitz - 20k This is the hacking forum’s shorthand for the rules of the auction. Bidding starts at US$9,000, and each bid must match the current bid plus US$500. Alternatively, someone can buy the lot outright for US$20,000. The source of the data has not been named. #Finance Manager #Profitability Outcomes #Business Growth #Cost Savings #Cash Flow Boosts # KPI’s Achievement #Reduction of Debt # Money Savings via Automation