A little work can thwart online photo scams, identity theft

There are many ways to get scammed on the web. Identity theft is just one of them. Fake photos are another.

A friend of mine almost got ripped off by someone listing a rental unit on Craigslist. It looked so fishy, ​​she did a Google image search on the photos he posted. The same photos have appeared all over the web, in an obviously fraudulent manner. She stopped just before sending a deposit of $ 4,000.

Here’s how to verify an image in a Google search. First, save it to your computer by right clicking and choosing “save as”. Then on the web, go to images.google.com. Find the image you saved. Click and drag it into the Google Images search box.

Many experts suggest that you get identity theft protection from a company like Identity Guard or Norton LifeLock. AAA, the travel guide, also offers it. But attorneys at the National Consumer Law Center say you don’t need to pay for identity theft protection if you’re willing to do it yourself. Here’s how.

Freeze your credit information at the three major credit reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Experts say all you can do is gravy. On Equifax.com, scroll down until you see the words “freeze or manage”. Then go to experian.com/freeze/center.html. At TransUnion, go to transunion.com/credit-freeze. I will wait because I have a new credit card application pending.

MATTRESS VACUUM

The EPA estimates that there are up to 10 million dust mites in a single mattress. Mites feed on the dander that we shed every day. I decided to do something about it.

I bought the Raycop Lite UV Disinfectant HEPA Allergen Vacuum for $ 152 from Amazon. It looks like a little stingray. Plug it in and slide it over the mattress and you’re done. It has pulsating pads that vibrate 3,300 times per minute. They are said to be three times more efficient than a regular vacuum cleaner. Raycop’s ultraviolet light claims to kill 99% of bacteria and viruses on any fabric surface.

People with allergies to pollen and dust mites give it great reviews on Amazon. I don’t have any allergies so it’s hard to tell the difference. It was just the yuck factor – thinking about all those dust mites – that got me going.

FUNNY MONEY

When a child wants money for their birthday, how can you make it special? I won money at Monopoly with the photo of each family member embedded in the center of each bill.

I started on Monopolyland.com and scrolled down until I saw “free printable money”. Then I chose a pattern that had empty circles in the center where George Washington would normally go. As the template was a PDF, which I cannot easily edit, I did a google search for “convert pdf to jpg” and chose Adobe’s free online tool. Next, I fed the image into my Hallmark greeting card program. I could have used Microsoft Word. But a greeting card program makes moving images a lot easier.

The next problem was how to crop my photos into circles. I searched for it on Google and clicked on the first result, crop-circle.imageonline.co. (without the end period) Upload your photo, click on it and save it. He comes out round. Then place it in a template.

I made bills in denominations of $ 1 to $ 500. The results were impressive. I made two of each ticket so that I could match the back to the front and glue them together with rubber glue, which doesn’t leave creases like regular glue. I wish I had made a $ 100,000 bill, which has the face of Woodrow Wilson, but never circulated. It was used for transactions between Federal Reserve banks during the Great Depression.

PINNED TO THE SHELF

The shelf, on a Chromebook, is what we call the Windows taskbar, a strip at the bottom of your screen. Chromebook has a new item on the shelf called Tote. Tote lets you pin files or pictures, making them easier to find.

To pin a file or folder, first find it in the “Files” area. Click the launch button at the bottom left, then use the up arrow to find “Files.” From there, choose a file or folder. Pin it by right-clicking it and choosing “Pin to Shelf”. You can detach anything by hovering over the shelf and clicking the pin icon. You can pin up to 20 items and drag them into emails or elsewhere.

FACEBOOK SMART GLASSES

Facebook’s new Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses are everywhere on the web. But it wasn’t until the edge that I saw a key point: Its camera isn’t as good as a smartphone camera. It all depends on the size of the lens and the sensor. The ultimate in lenses and sensors can be found in digital SLR cameras.

Having said that, I’m sure smart glasses are going to spread like smartwatches, at least for a subset of the population. When Google Glasses first came out, they made the mistake of making you ask for a pair, not trusting the market to weed out the non-serious ones. Since then, we’ve also had Spectacles by Snap Inc. The Engadget reviewer says she likes the audio feature of the Facebook glasses. Now she can listen to her music or podcasts and still hear the world around her. The glasses cost $ 299, which seems high. But how many glasses are listening when you then give an order?

Joy Schwabach can be reached by email at [email protected].