Science anus as easy as it seems: The Ig Nobel Prize (a play on the Nobel Prize) honors those doing quirkier work. Some of this year’s award-winning discoveries: Real plants can imitate the shapes of nearby fake plants, a coin is more likely to land on the side it started (heads or tails), and many mammals can breathe through their anuses. Yup, you read that right.
Tired of scam phone calls? Here are the top fake numbers and their associated scams
Are there certain numbers you never answer? If I see one that starts with the same few digits as mine, I know it’s likely a scam. That’s one of the tricks they use to get you since you’re most likely to answer if the number is vaguely familiar.
By now, you have a good idea what the scams are: Failed package delivery, you won a prize, there’s trouble with your student loan! But what about the numbers themselves? Here are a dozen you should never answer calls or texts from.
The dirty dozen
“Where’d these come from,” you ask? BeenVerified (a for-pay people search site) has a reverse phone tool you can use to see who is calling. These are the top 12 of 150,000+ numbers run through the tool over the past two years, along with the scam.
- (865) 630-4266: Text claiming your Wells Fargo account was locked.
- (469) 709-7630: A fake failed delivery attempt.
- (805) 637-7243: You won Publisher’s Clearing House! Not. Also used to impersonate the Visa fraud department.
- (858) 605-9622: Your PNC, Chase or Wells Fargo account is on hold. (It’s not.)
- (863) 532-7969: Call to unfreeze your debit card.
- (904) 495-2559: You won a prize! (You didn’t.)
- (312) 339-1227: Track your delivery … or click the link to lose weight.
- (917) 540-7996: In March, someone could have Ghostface from the movie “Scream” call your phone. It was a marketing tactic … and freaked a lot of people out.
- (347) 437-1689: Used for tax scams and a fake Dyson vacuum bill.
- (301) 307-4601: Your package is on hold! (It’s still not.)
- (878) 877-1402: Your card is locked.
- (202) 221-7923: Uh oh, your student loan forgiveness deadline is looming. (Nope.)
Go further: Forward spam texts to the FCC at 7726 (that’s SPAM). For scam calls where you lost money or have info, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov. For quicker reporting, go to DoNotCall.gov.
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Frank Sinatra famously sang in 1964, “Fly Me to the moon, let me play among the stars.” The lines were delivered five years before the U.S. made its infamous journey to the moon. Space travel has been the fascination of children and adults alike ever since.
The Pulitzer Prize is the biggest award in journalism, and two winners this year used AI. Was it to … A.) Write their first drafts, B.) Analyze aerial photography, C.) Survey police files and/or D.) Generate images? Two are right!
Get paid $2,400 to ditch your tech for 24 hours
The pandemic has reinforced the importance of technology in our lives. Remote work enables us to keep our jobs while maintaining social distance. Some children are doing the same with remote learning. We can attend weddings, birthdays and conferences without having to leave home.
This text from Apple promising a free iPhone is a scam - don't fall for it
Winning a contest can feel incredible — especially if there’s a fabulous prize attached. And what could be better than winning something as nice as a new Apple gadget like an iPhone or Mac?
Unfortunately, most of the contests you see offering free iPhones, iPads and Macs are scams. The prizes are bait used to hook unsuspecting victims into sharing financial information and personal data. Tap or click here to see the best ways to actually win contests and sweepstakes safely.