SECURITY --> SCAMS to Avoid -- and how to protect yourself in the first place

Unfortunately, there are so many scams out there that I could spend years typing about them all.
Some of the most popular ones target single people (via emails, or on dating web sites) and the elderly, and, especially around tax time, IRS Scams. DO NOT EVER GIVE THEM MONEY!

1. Many of the ones targeting the Elderly will be callers playing the "Hello, [Grandma or Grandpa]?" game, where the caller will attempt to convince the person that they are their grandchild and have an urgent need of cash, and want you to wire money to them right away.
• One way to avoid these things are for you to have special code words with your family. Just like if someone wants to pick up our child from somewhere, they have to know the code word. If the child asks for the code word and the person does not know it, the child calls out for help.
• Another way is to have another phone that you can use to call that family member (or their parents) to validate if anything is actually wrong.. For instance, I have my cell phone and my landline (using MagicJack, for just $40.00 per YEAR). If someone calls my landline and plays this game, I ask them to hold and I call my family member from the cell phone and verify it's valid.  If it is not, I turn around and call 9-1-1 and let the police know I have a scammer on (phone number) and ask if they want to try to trace it.  I then go back to my other line and keep that scammer on the phone for as long as I can, feigning issues understanding them.
2. Someone from The "IRS" will call you and say you owe them a bunch of money and they are preparing a warrant for your arrest if you do not get them the money NOW.. 
• They will typically want you to go to a store and purchase iTunes, or other Gift Cards immediately so you can read them the numbers.  
• In some cases they will want you to go to Western Union and wire them the money (this happened to a good friend of mine from India several years ago, and only at the last moment was I able to convince him it was a SCAM.
• THOSE THINGS ARE SCAMS !!  
• KEEP IN MIND -- the IRS will NEVER call you demanding money.  They will send you LETTERS.  
• ONLY AFTER A LONG TIME, would they possibly send the police
3. Someone will call from "Windows Support", or maybe from "Microsoft" saying your computer is infected.
• THIS IS ALWAYS A SCAM !!! Microsoft has NO WAY of knowing whether your computer/phone/tablet is infected with anything
• DO NOT EVER GIVE THEM YOUR PAYMENT CARD INFORMATION!!
4. You are a member of a dating site.  Someone is very attractive, has a great biography, and convinces you they are in love with you.  Perhaps they are a "Member of the Armed Forces" (like a Major in the US Army), stationed overseas.. They need just a little money to be able to get home.   
• Well, first of all, the US Military ALWAYS transports you back home when you are deployed, UNLESS you are traveling for personal vacation.. 
• The moment ANYONE starts asking you for money, you are very likely facing a scammer. 
• A long time friend of mine, "Freda", got sucked in to one of these scams.  He convinced her he was a Major in the Army, a Doctor, stationed in the Middle East and was preparing to retire and move back home, but needed some money to get his things home. Once home, they would move to Sacramento, CA and start a Medical Practice there.  "Freda" believed him (this guy was GOOD!!!) and gave him her life's savings bit-by-bit. Turns out he was a scammer, I think somewhere in Africa. 
5. I always recommend you use a really good Antivirus product.  I PERSONALLY use https://www.f-secure.com/en/home/free-tools/online-scanner">F-Secure's Online Scanner, which will help detect and get rid of viruses, Rootkits, etc..

• PLEASE NOTE: This one is not a Proactive Antivirus tool, like Avast (above).. This will tell you if something was able to sneak through whatever antivirus product you are running, and it will help destroy that.