Author: Bastion
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How Victims of Online Fraud Get Hit Twice—By Scammers and the IRS
There’s a cruel irony in the aftermath of being scammed. First, someone deceives you into giving up your hard-earned savings. Then, as you’re trying to piece together what remains of your financial life, the government comes knocking. Not to help—but to collect taxes on money you never even really had.
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Is That Work-from-Home Job Text a Scam? (Spoiler: Yes)
If you’ve ever gotten a text like this one—“Hi! I’m Jennifer, a recruiter looking for someone who wants to work from home! Can I send details and salary?”—you’re not alone. It’s one of the oldest tricks in the scammer playbook, and it’s getting a 2025 glow-up with some new tech-savvy twists. At first glance, this…
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How a Fake Brad Pitt Conned a Woman Out of $850,000
Scams can take many shapes, but some, like the one that swindled a French woman out of nearly $800,000, are as elaborate as they are heartbreaking. This case involves a series of carefully orchestrated deceptions, including AI-generated images of Brad Pitt, messages from a supposed family member, and a fabricated tale of medical and financial…
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Beware of the Toll Road Text Scam
It’s an ordinary day, and your phone buzzes with a text message. The sender claims it’s an urgent notice about unpaid tolls. You glance at it. The message looks official, even polite:
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How Safe Is Tap-to-Pay? Is It Really Safer Than Swiping Your Card?
Hey there! Let’s talk about something you probably do without thinking too much about: paying with your card. Whether you’re grabbing your morning coffee or finally buying that thing you’ve been eyeing online, payment methods have gotten faster and flashier. Enter tap-to-pay, the slick way to just boop your card (or phone) on a reader…
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The Innocent Text That Could Cost You Everything: How Pig Butchering Scams Start
Ah, the innocent-looking text message. A simple “How are you doing lately?” from an unknown number. It seems friendly, casual, and harmless, right? Wrong. This is exactly how Pig Butchering scams start, and it’s something you NEED to be aware of.