Genealogists Beware ... Scammers are Afoot -- Keep Yourself Safe Out There!

Recently MCGG has heard of a scam aimed at genealogists so we want everyone to be on their toes and on the look out to protect themselves in their genealogy life and while living life.

This scam we heard of was a website offering free ebooks or printing of books that are obviously still under copyright by their authors and publishers. The old adage "if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is not" holds true for this scam. The free offer requires creating a username and password and then asks for credit card information for "verification." In the very fine and faint print there is note of cancelling within seven days or a monthly membership fee will be charged. Obvious misrepresentation is occurring here. In this case the website starts off as liverpoolofficial.com and then as you are registering it switches to filesfetcher website which is a known name of a browser hijacker. So be aware and stay away from too good to be true offers.

And as a reminder, always be on the look out for email phishing scams of any kind that make it through your email provider's spam filter. Protect yourself by stopping before acting. Ask yourself would the purported company/individual make contact using email (or even by telephone) and make such an offer or demand. BUT above all do not click on any links in that questionable email. If you are unsure investigate the email offer/demand by other means. One way is to ask a more technological-aware family member or friend is the email/phone offer/demand a scam?

Lastly, be careful what you click on while browsing the internet. Make sure your devices are running security software that helps protect you from those links and ads to bad places. But remember you are your first defense by surfing the world wide web smartly.

Stay safe out there.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE