Google Adwords Phone Scam 2020

I’ve been getting some calls recently that I had missed. Caller ID shows the calls as Google, Inc. coming from Michigan. While I know Google has a call center in Michigan, the caller could not give me any verification that he was in fact with or calling from Google.

The caller had the last four digits of my clients account and had some information of what was in the account. But here’s the rub, he said he was here to help me with some account changes, but kept insisting that I do a screen share with him… essentially giving him remote access to my computer. I kept telling him no, I was not comfortable with giving him remote access to my computer.

He went along as I walked through account and made a few changes. I told him I needed his help with another account so he insisted again for the sake of saving time that I give him remote access / screen share so he can make the changes at which point I terminated the phone call.

Here are some key points regarding calls from Google Adwords Support:

  • As of September 10, 2020 if you call Google Adwords support you’ll get a message saying phone support for Google Adwords support is not currently available and you’ll be advised to use online support options.
  • When I told the person on the phone that Google corporate is stating on their own phone messaging that Google Adwords phone support is no longer available due to the pandemic, he told me Google has not made them aware of this.
  • I’ve been working with Google Adwords for nearly 15 years and I’ve never had a Google rep insist that I give them access to my computer
  • Never give anyone remote access to your computer unless it’s through and official link or chat tool.
  • Make sure any communication or call backs have been set up through some official online mechanism from Google

A Google Adwords rep calling should be comfortable with guiding you over the phone without needing or requesting remote access to your computer.

NOTE: The initial calls came from 734-973-5142 and ID said Google Inc. The 2nd set of calls came from 650-253-0000 spoofing caller ID to appear as Google Inc. as well. If you call the last number and go through menus you’ll get this message: “Google Phone Support Currently Unavailable”.

 

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MacOS Catalina Upgrade Issue Late 2015 iMac

I recently purchased a late 2015 iMac and promptly replaced the hybrid drive with a 2TB SSD from OWC (Other World Computing). My next upgrade was bumping RAM up from 32GB to 64GB.

After upgrading memory and swapping out with OWC a 2nd time I still had some random issues with iMac shutting down and restarting. I did the usual stuff, I ran hardware test and then a tool called Rember to test memory further. Everything tested out positively. No detected hardware issues, memory stress test checked OK…but the persistent issue of random shut down / restart had me ready to pull out some hair out.

I thought running the MacOS Catalina upgrade might help so I downloaded via “About this Mac”, but I kept getting a message that the file was corrupted. I downloaded from Apple and got some message. On the third attempt, I downloaded the file to an external drive thinking my SSD might be possible cause.

After scratching my head a few times I decided to remove the upgraded 64GB memory and reinstall the factory 32GB RAM.

SURPRISE!!! I re-downloaded Catalina upgrade through software update tool under apple icon / About this Mac and I was able to complete the upgrade. I did however run into a few issues.

NOTE: If you use wireless keyboard mouse, you may need to reset your PRAM. Because of this I could not connect any wireless devices to complete Catalina OS install. I found an old Apple keyboard with cable and ran to BestBuy to purchase an $8 corded mouse to finish the install / setup.

Once completed, I was able to reset PRAM and activate bluetooth on my iMac.

The interesting thing for me in this process is that the memory created some sort of issue that caused a corruption error when trying to do the upgrade and also the random shut-down / restart issue. I have not had time to circle back around on that issue.

In closing, I would make sure you are not doing any upgrades and trying to install Catalina OS at same time. Run the update first and then work through any potential hardware upgrade issues as they come up. I’m going to call OWC and see if they have any insight on this issue and will follow up here with another post.

Youtube Releases New Home Page With New Look For Desktop and Mobile

From Youtube:

We’re excited to bring you the new YouTube homepage: an updated design with new features that start rolling out today across your desktop and tablet devices. You can expect to see a redesigned layout, higher resolution previews, an “add to queue” feature, and more – check out the full update on our blog and the summary below!
  • More easily find the next great video to watch: this new look includes longer video titles, bigger thumbnails, and higher resolution previews, so you can see more information about each video at a glance. As part of the new design, you’ll notice a full page grid of suggested videos rather than rows of suggested videos by category. There will still be some horizontal sections for breaking news, music mixes and more.

  • Recognize your favorite creators with channel icons: when browsing on Home, you’ll now see channel icons below each video, making it easier to recognize your favorite creators and the content you love. For creators – we hope this helps you get more visibility for your channel on the Homepage!
  • Customize what to watch next with your queue: if you’re looking for a way to queue up the next video without interrupting what you’re currently watching, try out add to queue on desktop. You’ll see the queue button on every video thumbnail, or you can select “add to queue” from the three-dot menu (detailed instructions here). Note that your queue is temporary, so it won’t save after you’ve closed your browser. If you want to save videos to watch at a later time, you can still use the Watch Later playlist.

  • Remove suggestions from channels you don’t want to watch: in fewer steps, you can tell YouTube to stop suggesting videos from a particular channel. Just tap the three-dot menu next to a video, then “Don’t recommend channel”. After that, you should no longer see video suggestions from that channel.

  • Coming soon – select topics to refine your Homepage and Up Next videos: earlier this year, we added a new feature to the YouTube Android app that lets you select your favorite topics and customize your Home feed with related videos. We’ll be releasing it on desktop and tablets soon!

https://support.google.com/youtube/thread/18132714

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