Page 16 - 11Cyber

(Continued from page 15)

Stop Eating Chicken Breasts Immediately

The point is to teach people to recognize clickbait
and to avoid it. It’s not worth your time.

Free IQ tests and credit score checks often ask you
to fill in personal information. Unfortunately, you
don’t know that the website collects your personal
details to build a profile on you. Once you submit
this information, you’ll be subjected to scams and
even more links to dangerous websites.

Clickbait links open the door to more spam and po-
tential malware, adware, spyware, viruses, worms,
trojan horses, and the real possibility that someone
could take over control of your computer. Just say
no by refusing to click on links you aren’t sure
about.

The DealDash

(Penny Auction) Scam

By David Kretchmar, Computer Technician Consumers are buying more items online every year
Sun City Summerlin Computer Club and appreciate the convenience, selection, and often
substantial cost savings. So, these penny auctions
If you watch much TV or surf the internet, you’ve would appear to be an extension of that money-
seen ads promising products as much as 95 per- saving online buying concept.
cent off retail at Deal-
Dash.com or other Most consumers are familiar with online auctions at
penny auction sites. sites such as eBay, where interested individuals bid
DealDash advertises up the price of an item until time expires. The high
itself as offering fair bidder at the end of the auction wins the item at the
and honest auctions, winning bid price.
but is it really? Mil- However, another form of online auctions, internet
lions of people have signed up for a chance to buy penny auctions, has expanded in recent years. While
items at penny auctions at a fraction of the retail some of these sites are technically legitimate, many
price. Who wouldn’t want to buy a new iPad for of their business practices are questionable, and
$30? But think about it; who would want to sell that most consumers would be better off avoiding them
iPad for $30 when it cost several hundred dollars altogether.
wholesale? It is worth noting that the “penny” in
penny auctions refers to the bid increments, but (Continued on page 17)
your actual cost could be many dollars.

Cyber Awareness Bulletin 16 October 2021