👾 Cyber Security - Honey (PayPal) and PIE (Honey) are scams. 🔥 1/2/2025 - LegalEagle is now suing Honey, and PayPal is trying to cover their arse.
My "Let's talk Malware, etc." Collection - https://../898057?view=condensed
I'm System Maintenance and Support IRL, or at least I use to be - I'm unemployed, not retired. It's a passion - I like computers and technology and I like helping folks.
When the first Malware Incident happened, part of my response included sharing some basic cyber security tips, for obvious reasons. You might understand or know something, but that don't mean everyone else does. You might have a premium antivirus / anti-malware software suite that you swear by, but not everyone does, and nothing is foolproof where cyber security is concerned. The larger simming community incorporates folks from all walks of life and varying age groups, and we should look our for each other.
When Minecraft got hit with Malware on Curseforge in 2023, the rest of us either weren't aware because "it wasn't our business", or didn't care because "that has nothing to do with The Sims 4" and "our mods are different", etc.
That mentality doesn't work - obviously - because we don't exist in a vacuum.
I don't use Honey or PIE, never have, but maybe one of you do, or someone you know does, maybe you're a small creator and fell for the affiliate scam, maybe Honey works for you and you think this is #FakeNews, maybe, maybe, maybe, a little awareness doesn't hurt.
⋆⋅ THIS PLAYLIST HAS EVOLVED TO INCLUDE CONTENT FROM OTHER CREATORS:
1️⃣ [12/21/2024] Exposing the Honey Influencer Scam - by MegaLag
In summary, Honey (PayPal) is a scam. Not only are they colluding with businesses to not give you "the best coupons", but they're also profiting off of you, and stealing money from their affiliates, and that's apparently only the tip of this iceberg.
⚡ [12/22/2024] Is Honey A Complete Scam...? - by SomeOrdinaryGamers
[3/15] I've removed the hotlinks for this entry because I have ethical concerns about sharing content from this individual. It's tiring having to investigate every bloody content creator. Geez.
Some of this might be in MegaLag's second video.
If you click on an affiliate link from a creator - say an Amazon affiliate link - and you have Honey installed, Honey will !@#$ them over and replace their affiliate with Honey's. Also, as pointed out in MegaLag's first video, LinusTechTips and other creators discovered this back in 2022 and didn't bother to raise a red flag. Also also, let's talk about PIE...
⚡ [12/23/2024] Exposing the "PIE" Influencer Disaster - by Upper Echelon
PIE is made by the same people who created Honey and appears to be doing the same scummy !@#$ or worse.
🔥 [1/2/2025] I'm Suing Honey - by LegalEagle
LegalEagle has filed a class action lawsuit to recover the money they believe was stolen from creators, in order to give it back to creators. They're also suing for an injunction to prevent Honey (PayPal) from pulling this !@#$ again.
2️⃣ [1/2/2025] Updates on Honey (Patreon Post) - by MegaLag
https://www.patreon.com/posts/119112636 - This is subscription-locked.
PayPal has apparently "quietly changed their Terms of Service" about something to something, likely to cover their arse and avoid accountability for their actions, but I can't tell you more because Megalag publishes subscription-locked updates to their investigations, and this is one of them... like seriously bruh?
3️⃣ TBC...
⋆⋅ ENCHROMA AND OTHER COMPANIES ARE SCAMMING COLORBLIND FOLKS. - BY MEGALAG
I'm not colorblind. I took the EnChroma test, and even with my "night light" setting on, I was able to correctly identify every number, even the "9" that was obscured by my "night light". I've got myopia, in other words, I'm near-sighted / short-sighted.
1️⃣ [12/1/2023] Exposing the Color Blind Glasses Scam (Part 1)
Other companies that sell "cure your colorblindness" glasses are also discussed, including Pilestone and Carelust. Both EnChroma and Pilestone filter their reviews, removing all negative feedback, and testimonial videos used for promotions are staged.
This behavior of exploiting folks who are different or differently able is disheartening. I'm not surprised that Logan Paul jumped on this. His video currently has 30 million views and 2.3 million likes, and he faked it all, and after 8 years, he can't be arsed to remove the video, change the title or update the description.
2️⃣ [12/21/2023] Exposing the Fake Science behind Color Blind Glasses (Part 2)
These companies know the real science, and it doesn't support their claims, yet they continue to market their glasses as "a cure for all types of colorblindness" that just "doesn't work for everyone". Furthermore, Carelust was* literally reselling $4.00 "Made in China" glasses for $89.00. The company is registered under a fake address and phone number, and they are certainly not FDA approved.
I wear "amber-tinted" lenses that removes some blue from the spectrum, making whites less white. They work the same as your device's "night light/mode" setting. The claim that applying a color filter to your vision will fix your colorblindness sounds outlandish to me.
The number of professionals in these videos endorsing scams and lacking the integrity to acknowledge it after being exposed is a big part of the reason why trust in our institutions and our professionals is degrading, and it's why misinformation campaigns and fearmongering is succeeding, even when it results in death.
3️⃣ [3/31/2024] EnChroma CEO Responds to my Exposé (Part 3)
Carelust no longer exists, but EnChroma is still at it, and CAT® has jumped in on the scam, as seen on EnChroma's website on 12/24/2024:
⋆⋅ 🦄 PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION:
If you need an ad-blocker, use uBlock Origin.
Be warned, there is another extension named similarly to uBlock Origin that is in no way affiliated with uBlock Origin, that's why I linked the official website.
I'll do a standalone post for this eventually.
Since we're doing this, would you like to know why I dislike Discord?
In summary, Discord's creator has a history of selling user data to third-parties, and not just basic user data either. They were accused of collecting and selling personal identifying data, including live GPS location data.
The second video mentions some alternatives. I can't recommend any of them because I don't know them, plus these videos are years old. "Gilded" was bought by Roblox, and Roblox has it's own disgusting problems. If you're a parent with kids who use Roblox, you need to monitor them actively. I have read too many articles about both sexual predators targeting minors and "devs" exploiting minors for free labor.
I was present when Discord appeared in the wild with it's ridiculous UI. Discord's popularity made sense, but it's trajectory never made sense.