Scam Watch: Don’t use easy passwords for online financial accounts
Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for.
Popular passwords
It’s a good idea to be careful when selecting a password for online financial accounts. If criminals crack your password, it won’t be too hard for them to steal your money.
Yet many people choose passwords that will be easy for them to remember, placing a higher priority on convenience than security. The problem is that the passwords will also be easy for hackers to crack.
The FBI and National White Collar Crime Center have released a list of common passwords that have been stolen by hackers. Here’s the top 10: password, 123456, 12345678, qwerty, abc123, monkey, 1234567, letmein, trustno1 and dragon.
Online security experts recommend choosing passwords that include capital and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.
Mileage boost
A company that sold a device it said could boost gas mileage at least 50% and “turn any vehicle into a hybrid” will stop making the phony claims and stop selling fuel-economy products under an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission.
Without acknowledging wrongdoing, Dutchman Enterprises in Newfoundland, N.J., and other marketers of the Hydro-Assist Fuel Cell settled a complaint filed by the FTC in 2009.
The marketing firm had contended that the device turned water into what it called water gas, with five times the potential energy of gasoline. Under the settlement, the defendants will pay a judgment of $230,000, the FTC said.
Internet car sales
A federal grand jury in Los Angeles has indicted six foreign nationals on charges that they defrauded U.S. consumers who tried to buy automobiles online.
The 24-count indictment accused the defendants of stealing millions of dollars from consumers who responded to ads listing cars for sale on legitimate websites such as EBay Motors, Auto Trader, Yahoo Auto, Edmunds.com and Craigslist.
No vehicle was delivered to the hundreds of victims who paid more than $4 million, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles. Victims were told the money would be held in escrow but were tricked into depositing it into accounts that the suspects could access, prosecutors said.
Three suspects were arrested in the U.S. and are being held in custody. The other three remain at large.
