Let's talk digital security

As I said the other day, there are a lot of bad people in this world that are willing to do anything for money. They will steal your identification and sell it to the highest bidder, they will fool you into giving them your money or they will flat out steal from you.

One of the biggest scams going right now is direct deposit switch.

This is where they get the password to your email account and send an email to the HR department where you work saying, "I've switched banks. Please change my direct deposit to this new bank and account." Then they put rules on your email account so any replies get slipped into a hidden sub folder. You never know they are doing it until payday rolls around and you don't get your paycheck.

Another scam is the, "Are you there?" email scam.

This is where you get an email allegedly from your boss with one line: "I have an emergency, are you available?" If you reply, you will get a second email that says something to the effect of, "Oh, thank goodness. I'm in an important meeting and I can't leave. I just realized my nephews birthday is tomorrow and I need to get him a present. Can you go to the store and pick up a $100 iTunes gift card for me? I'll reimburse you tomorrow. This is very important to me."

If you get the card, they will ask you to scratch off the access code and send it to them so they can send it along to their nephew. You are now out $100 and your boss knows nothing about this because he/she never sent you the email.

Look, all I can say is be wary, be skeptical and don't use the same passwords for work, your bank or anything that involves your money. Verify any email by making sure the email address makes sense. If you work at XYZ company where everyone has an email address that is YourName@XYZ.com, don't believe an email you get from YourBoss@gmail.com.

If you do get scammed, do not beat yourself up. These people are very, very good at what the do. They make millions of dollars a year on fraud schemes.

Remain skeptical and vigilant. This is your best defense. Also, don't do something stupid like click on the link in the email that says Facebook wants to give you a $100 gift card for taking their survey. There is no survey, don't click on the link. Neither CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Facebook or Microsoft is going to give you any money to take their survey or for being a loyal customer.

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The Twins/Yankees game is on at 5:00 today, the Rays/Astros game is on at 9:00 and the Bruins game is on at 9:00.

I'm pretty sure I'll be able to watch some the Twins/Yankees game but I'm probably going to be sound asleep by 9:00.

Oh well, that's the downside to being an old guy who wakes up early.

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Enjoy these links:

• Here we go. I gotta make sure The Beast is good to go.



• This is probably the weirdest thing you will read today.



• Key phrase in this story: "My f***ing cat is exhausted and on a glucose drip, and this is my fault?"



• It's not the dogs fault.



• Bears - The Dogs of the Forest.



• The old finger gun trick. It always worked when I was a kid.