May 2025
If it seems fishy, IT IS!
28/05/25 Filed in: scams
Several years ago I sent this exact email out to everyone. Unfortunately…I continue to work with people weekly who are falling victim to scams they accidentally come across on the internet. So let’s take a second to review the topic of being scammed.
There are many fake ads out there that appear to be very convincing. These will often tell you something is wrong with your account or a package couldn’t be delivered and that you should call them. Or they might tell you that your credit cards have been compromised and the only way to restore your security is to interact with them. None of this is real. You may be saying to yourself, “I never fall for that stuff. Who would be such a sucker?” But more and more I work with clients I consider highly intelligent who fall victim to these strategies. There are many reasons that could result in a lapse in judgement. The main reason I’ve found is panic. It’s easy to become flustered or overwhelmed in the moment if you think something may have happened to your accounts. These scammers use that sense of panic and confusion to get you to make bad decisions. Several times I’ve seen clients pay these scammers with gift cards or check routing numbers. Victims will allow the scammer to remote in to their computer and cause more havoc. 9/10 times these scams only occur because the victim unknowingly participates in it. The whole goal for the scammer is to convince you that something terrible has happened and only they can help you to fix it. It is always a lie. For example, If you see something like this pop up…
DO NOT call them. If you do, they will try very effectively to convince you they are someone they are not. They will convince you to give them financial or other information about yourself. I see people do this every day. I can’t say it loudly enough. This is a lie.
What should I do?
All you are looking at when you see a page like the one above is an ad. Just hit the escape key. It’s only a webpage and the page has gone into full screen mode. You may hear a scary voice coming from your computer. It’s just a recording on that webpage. If you just hit the escape key you can then close the window and continue with your day. You can also move the mouse to the top of the screen to reveal the green, yellow and red window buttons in the top left and just hit the red button to close the window. It is only an ad. Do not call them.
And most importantly:
In closing, if you feel you may have installed any malicious software accidentally or would just like a security checkup with all your devices, you can schedule a session directly on my website at www.sellsconsulting.com. I am available remotely seven days a week and in person on a more limited basis. Feel free to forward this information to anyone you feel may benefit. You can also visit the answers section on my site for even more ways to improve your approach to security.
Click safely,
Scotty
There are many fake ads out there that appear to be very convincing. These will often tell you something is wrong with your account or a package couldn’t be delivered and that you should call them. Or they might tell you that your credit cards have been compromised and the only way to restore your security is to interact with them. None of this is real. You may be saying to yourself, “I never fall for that stuff. Who would be such a sucker?” But more and more I work with clients I consider highly intelligent who fall victim to these strategies. There are many reasons that could result in a lapse in judgement. The main reason I’ve found is panic. It’s easy to become flustered or overwhelmed in the moment if you think something may have happened to your accounts. These scammers use that sense of panic and confusion to get you to make bad decisions. Several times I’ve seen clients pay these scammers with gift cards or check routing numbers. Victims will allow the scammer to remote in to their computer and cause more havoc. 9/10 times these scams only occur because the victim unknowingly participates in it. The whole goal for the scammer is to convince you that something terrible has happened and only they can help you to fix it. It is always a lie. For example, If you see something like this pop up…
DO NOT call them. If you do, they will try very effectively to convince you they are someone they are not. They will convince you to give them financial or other information about yourself. I see people do this every day. I can’t say it loudly enough. This is a lie.
What should I do?
All you are looking at when you see a page like the one above is an ad. Just hit the escape key. It’s only a webpage and the page has gone into full screen mode. You may hear a scary voice coming from your computer. It’s just a recording on that webpage. If you just hit the escape key you can then close the window and continue with your day. You can also move the mouse to the top of the screen to reveal the green, yellow and red window buttons in the top left and just hit the red button to close the window. It is only an ad. Do not call them.
Here are a few general rules to follow:
- Do not enter your admin password unless you have a good reason to do so.
- Do not allow someone you don’t know to remote in to your computer.
- No legitimate company allows payment of any kind via gift cards.
- Use strong passwords, not a word that can be found in the dictionary followed by numbers and a special character. If your password is Tarheels97! or Rolltide73$, you don’t have a password.
- Do not use non password protected wifi networks.
- Monitor your bank accounts and account for every small charge you see monthly. A dumb thief will try to steal a large amount all at one time but a smart thief will steal a small amount from lots of people hoping no one will notice.
And most importantly:
- Do not call a number you see on a webpage that is warning you that something bad has happened to your computer or accounts. If you are concerned, call your bank directly.
In closing, if you feel you may have installed any malicious software accidentally or would just like a security checkup with all your devices, you can schedule a session directly on my website at www.sellsconsulting.com. I am available remotely seven days a week and in person on a more limited basis. Feel free to forward this information to anyone you feel may benefit. You can also visit the answers section on my site for even more ways to improve your approach to security.
Click safely,
Scotty
How can I get the data off of this dead phone?
27/05/25 Filed in: iphone | data transfer
My daughter's iPhone “died”. Thinking it was the battery, somehow they got it back but it went out again-screen stays black. On April 7 backed up the phone on my computer. For some reason it has not backed up on iCloud.
Went to the Genius Bar in SouthPark. They said no ICloud back up since 2018. Some kind of error message on phone but no other reason it could not be restored. Could not retrieve any data after April 7. Recommended a data retrieval company Drive Savers as she has lots of baby pictures and other info which she uses constantly. They could then wipe out the phone and reinstall everything and the phone should function.
Whether she keeps the same phone or gets a new one she’d like to have the data since April 7.
___________
This is an interesting problem as it’s extremely odd for the phone to have not been set to backup to the cloud. An iPhone can back up two ways, through the cloud or directly to a computer. But it cannot do both at the same time. There is a possibility that she has been connecting it to a computer in which case the computer would have the backup.
The other possibility is that it was set to back up to the cloud but that backup had failed. Although I’ve never seen this.
I personally do not do data retrieval from iPhones that don’t power on. However, based on your description there’s seems to be something we’re missing here. Or I don’t have all the information. That said, I’m happy to look at the issue to see if there is anything we could do to cover the data before moving to a much more expensive process like data recovery. That process is not cheap as they know people who are in need of their services are usually willing to pay high rates out of desperation.
This is something we could explore remotely and my earliest availability is today if you’d like. You can schedule a remote session online using the link below if you’d like. If the phone does power up but no screen then we may be able to make a backup of it using a computer then the rest would be much easier.
We have several options of how to proceed through the issue.
Went to the Genius Bar in SouthPark. They said no ICloud back up since 2018. Some kind of error message on phone but no other reason it could not be restored. Could not retrieve any data after April 7. Recommended a data retrieval company Drive Savers as she has lots of baby pictures and other info which she uses constantly. They could then wipe out the phone and reinstall everything and the phone should function.
Whether she keeps the same phone or gets a new one she’d like to have the data since April 7.
___________
This is an interesting problem as it’s extremely odd for the phone to have not been set to backup to the cloud. An iPhone can back up two ways, through the cloud or directly to a computer. But it cannot do both at the same time. There is a possibility that she has been connecting it to a computer in which case the computer would have the backup.
The other possibility is that it was set to back up to the cloud but that backup had failed. Although I’ve never seen this.
I personally do not do data retrieval from iPhones that don’t power on. However, based on your description there’s seems to be something we’re missing here. Or I don’t have all the information. That said, I’m happy to look at the issue to see if there is anything we could do to cover the data before moving to a much more expensive process like data recovery. That process is not cheap as they know people who are in need of their services are usually willing to pay high rates out of desperation.
This is something we could explore remotely and my earliest availability is today if you’d like. You can schedule a remote session online using the link below if you’d like. If the phone does power up but no screen then we may be able to make a backup of it using a computer then the rest would be much easier.
We have several options of how to proceed through the issue.
Where can I get rid of old hard drives?
27/05/25 Filed in: security
Do you have any suggestions about where/how to destroy old hard drives, iPads and more?
___________
There are two responsible recycle centers in Charlotte. Foxhole down below Ballantyne and Hickory Grove on Pence road in east Charlotte. Hard drives are very easily destroyed just by hammering them a few times. iPad, I would not recommend doing that as they contain batteries that have chemicals. Instead, the safe way to dispose of the data is to either boot the device up and sign out of your iCloud account from the device itself, or if it doesn’t boot, you can go into the FindMy app on another device logged into the same account and remove or remote wipe the device if it is still listed.
Side note: This is also why it’s a good idea to name each device you get a different name. So many people have iPhone, iPhone (4), iPhone (52) and they have no idea which is which. To give current devices a unique name, you can go to Settings: General: About and rename it. This will help differentiate devices in the future.
___________
There are two responsible recycle centers in Charlotte. Foxhole down below Ballantyne and Hickory Grove on Pence road in east Charlotte. Hard drives are very easily destroyed just by hammering them a few times. iPad, I would not recommend doing that as they contain batteries that have chemicals. Instead, the safe way to dispose of the data is to either boot the device up and sign out of your iCloud account from the device itself, or if it doesn’t boot, you can go into the FindMy app on another device logged into the same account and remove or remote wipe the device if it is still listed.
Side note: This is also why it’s a good idea to name each device you get a different name. So many people have iPhone, iPhone (4), iPhone (52) and they have no idea which is which. To give current devices a unique name, you can go to Settings: General: About and rename it. This will help differentiate devices in the future.
You get what you pay for.
15/05/25 Filed in: gmail
I have an entire mailbox that has gone missing from my Gmail - it’s just not there anymore. It is a wedding file, and I had a lot of emails in there.
Any ideas?
___________
First place I go is to the actual website www.gmail.com. If it is not there either then next question is do you have a Google Workspace account. It’a a paid tier of gmail. If so, that type of account allows you to recover deleted email for a period of time. You won’t have any luck with actual assistance from Google. Only tech articles.
If neither of those works, then the hail marry is a Time Machine backup. But even Time Machine doesn’t backup what only resides in the cloud such as email. Happy to try to assist if needed but I’ve run into this issue several times and it generally doesn’t end well. Gmail is known to just lose email.
Any ideas?
___________
First place I go is to the actual website www.gmail.com. If it is not there either then next question is do you have a Google Workspace account. It’a a paid tier of gmail. If so, that type of account allows you to recover deleted email for a period of time. You won’t have any luck with actual assistance from Google. Only tech articles.
If neither of those works, then the hail marry is a Time Machine backup. But even Time Machine doesn’t backup what only resides in the cloud such as email. Happy to try to assist if needed but I’ve run into this issue several times and it generally doesn’t end well. Gmail is known to just lose email.
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