Posts

How to Spot Online Shopping Scams: Practical Advice for Safer Buying Every time you click “buy now,” there’s a small chance you’re handing your money to a criminal instead of a legitimate seller. Online shopping scams are nothing new, but they keep evolving. Government agencies like the VA and FDIC regularly issue warnings because the schemes are persistent and often convincing. The advice they give isn’t just for veterans or military families—it applies to anyone who shops online. ...

How to Spot and Avoid Online Shopping Scams Online shopping is convenient, but it also attracts scammers who set up fake stores, send phishing emails, or advertise deals that are too good to be true. Government agencies like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regularly warn consumers to stay vigilant. This guide outlines what is happening, why it matters, and practical steps you can take to protect yourself. ...

How to Spot Fake Prom Dress Websites Before You Get Scammed Prom season is in full swing, and for many families that means searching for the perfect dress online. But the Better Business Bureau (BBB) has issued a warning that scammers are taking advantage of the rush, setting up fake websites that look legitimate but are designed to steal your money and personal information. An alert recently published by 101.5 WPDH detailed how these fraudulent sites are targeting shoppers in the Hudson Valley, though the problem is national. Here’s what you need to know to avoid getting taken. ...

Check This New Gmail AI Privacy Setting Now to Control Your Data If you use Gmail — and with about 1.8 billion active accounts, chances are you do — a privacy setting recently changed in a way you may not have noticed. Google has quietly enabled AI-powered features that can read your emails to generate smart replies, summaries, and other suggestions. The catch is that some of this data may also be used to train Google’s AI models. ...

1 in 3 Americans Has Been Scammed While Shopping Online — Here’s What to Know If you’ve ever bought something online that never arrived, or clicked a link in an email that looked like an order confirmation but turned out to be a phishing trap, you’re not alone. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, about a third of U.S. adults say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. That’s roughly one out of every three online shoppers — and the numbers are worth paying attention to, especially as holiday shopping season ramps up. ...

How to Spot Fake Prom Dress Websites and Avoid Scams This Season Prom season is a stressful enough time for families without having to worry about losing money to a fraudulent website. Every spring, scammers set up fake online stores that offer prom dresses at deep discounts, only to disappear after taking payment—or worse, steal personal and financial information for identity theft. A recent alert from the Better Business Bureau serving the Hudson Valley region highlights this exact problem, but the threat is national. Here’s what happened, why it matters, and how you can protect yourself. ...

Gmail’s New AI Privacy Setting: Check It Before Your Data Gets Used If you use Gmail, there’s a privacy setting you might want to look at soon. A recent TechRepublic report notes that up to 1.8 billion Gmail users could be affected by a new option that controls how Google uses your email data for AI training. The setting is easy to find, but it’s not always obvious what it does or why you might want to change it. ...

How to Spot Fake Prom Dress Websites (and Avoid Getting Scammed) Prom season is here, and with it comes a familiar wave of scams. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) recently issued an alert for shoppers in the Hudson Valley, warning about fake prom dress websites that are popping up to steal money and personal information. While the alert is regional, the pattern is national. Here’s what happened, why it matters, and how you can protect yourself or your teen. ...

How to Stop Google From Using Your Gmail for AI Training – Step-by-Step Privacy Fix If you use Gmail, there’s a good chance your emails are being used to train Google’s AI models. A recent report from TechRepublic highlights that the company’s default privacy settings may allow this without clear consent, and a lawsuit filed in early 2026 claims that the option is effectively hidden from users. With 1.8 billion active Gmail accounts, that’s a lot of personal correspondence feeding into machine-learning systems. ...

Online shopping scams hit a third of Americans – here’s what to watch for A recent survey from the Pew Research Center found that about a third of U.S. adults (33%) say they have experienced an online shopping scam. The data, released in November 2025, underscores how widespread these schemes have become. Whether you’re a seasoned online buyer or someone who only shops occasionally, the risk is real—and it’s worth knowing what to look for. ...