In the article “Caution: The ‘Pig Butchering’ Phishing Expedition,” I delve into a sophisticated scam I recently discovered through John Oliver’s HBO show. “Pig Butchering” is a phishing scam that merges romance and investment fraud, often involving cryptocurrency. Scammers meticulously build trust over time, aiming to exploit it for financial gain. I emphasize the importance of watching John Oliver’s segment on this topic, as it provides crucial insights into the scam’s workings and its widespread impact. The article outlines practical steps to avoid falling victim to “Pig Butchering,” including skepticism towards unsolicited messages, the importance of research, and never sharing personal or financial information online. Awareness and caution are highlighted as the best defenses against such scams.
Spam
Just What is a WordPress “Pingback” Anyway?
In the realm of WordPress, a “pingback” is a digital acknowledgment sent when one website links to another. For instance, if an article on CharlesWorks.com references CWCorner.com, the latter receives a notification in its comments section, given both sites have pingbacks enabled. While similar to trackbacks, pingbacks are automatic and only display the link. They can enhance SEO and foster blogger interactions but may also attract spam. Users can manage pingbacks in their WordPress settings and use plugins like Akismet for spam protection.
Another Lying Spammer’s BS
Forgive me if I appear annoyed. Unfortunately, messages like these are quite common. As website developers, we see them far too often. They waste our time. They are based on outright lies. What bothers me the most is that these messages frighten our web clients into...
How to Manage Spam Comments in your Website
In doing routine server audits, I often notice that some posts on various websites are getting spammed. This usually means that a control on the post (when it was originally created) has the "Allow Comments" and/or "Allow Pings" left turned on. At that point I check a...
Anatomy of a Phone Text Phishing Attempt
Phishing - attempts to trick people into giving up sensitive information - has been on the rise for many. many years now. Even seasoned internet individuals can fall prey to the bad actors perpetrating this criminal activity. The Phish Here is an example of a text I...
Continued Email Phishing Attempts
What is Phishing? Phishing is defined as the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers. Phishing attempts continue at an...
How to turn off the WordPress dashboard Jetpack nags
This is a work in progress, so bear with me as it is not done yet! Jetpack, created and maintained by Autommatic, has increasingly moved toward monetization over the past years. As part of this process, Autommatic wants to generate more and more revenue. There was a...
Dealing with Website Form and Comment Spamming
The spamming of web forms has grown tremendously over the past several years. Spamming forms is inevitable with any forms on websites. This has little or nothing to do with where your website is hosted. The problem The main problem is that even though it is, and has...
How to Turn Off Post or Page Comments
Keeping your site cleared of spam comments will also allow it to operate more efficiently. Getting spam comments has nothing to do with your web hosting. It has to do with setting up what is necessary to mitigate the spammers. This will help immensely with keeping...
Dealing with “Reply To:” issues in WordPress form outputs
Spam Prevention nightmares Spam prevention has been a nightmare for all involved since even before I began CharlesWorks in 1998. Spammers: they are always trying to find ways around the spam protection. Email users: It is a constant battle trying to sort spam from...