We have urged readers in the past to pay attention to the pushes received from mobile phone manufacturers to update operating systems. Although the pushes claim that new features are included, there are also patches included to plug known vulnerabilities. If you keep pushing “later,” and you don’t update as soon as possible, those vulnerabilities … Continue Reading
There have been numerous examples of how hackers can get hold of sensitive and deeply personal information and use it against individuals to embarrass and extort them into sending money or compromising pictures to the hackers to prevent the information from being posted on the web. These examples include cyberbullying, online love scams, blackmail through … Continue Reading
I think that people in general are decent and good. There are always some bad apples, but during crises most people want to help others. During the coronavirus pandemic, many people are doing everything they can to help others, including assisting neighbors, family members, friends and health care workers. Charitable organizations have stepped up to … Continue Reading
Nintendo has shut down some NNID logins and has told Switch owners to lock down their accounts following a series of fraudulent attacks. Nintendo has confirmed that it suffered an attack by hackers who accessed some accounts and are using PayPal accounts linked to the accounts to purchase items fraudulently. According to Nintendo, approximately 160,000 … Continue Reading
Google has warned users in a blog article that nation state-backed hackers are using the COVID-19 crisis to ramp up phishing attempts and, in one example, are posing as American fast food franchises and sending malicious emails with fake offers and coupons to government officials and health care workers. Google has identified over 12 government-backed … Continue Reading
In the past week, the United States government started issuing Economic Impact Payments (EIP) of up to $1,200 per qualified individual and $500 per child. The amount of the EIP received depends on one’s adjusted gross income from the 2019 (or 2018) federal tax filing. If a taxpayer who is qualified to receive the check … Continue Reading
Kids are at home all day now, remote learning and surfing the web more than ever before. Parents are working from home too, and understandably are not always able to monitor and supervise their children’s computer use as much as they should or would like to. Scammers, fraudsters and evil doers know this and are … Continue Reading
The scammers know that most of us are working from home and are trying to use this to their advantage. The robocalls have increased, and telemarketers are calling more frequently, but with a new twist—preying on fears of consumers about coronavirus. I am on the Do-Not-Call list, yet I am still getting many unwanted robocalls. … Continue Reading
For those of us who work outside of the home during normal times, we know when we are home on the weekends not to answer our home telephone unless we recognize the number or caller. The same is, of course, true for our mobile phones. If the caller is someone we know, they will leave … Continue Reading
It is an old trick, and one that scammers are once again using following massive lay-offs after the coronavirus outbreak and mandates to shelter from home. The trick is to impersonate an employer recruiting for jobs, or touting the ability to make lots of money while working from home. As the old adage says, “If … Continue Reading
Our firm is a proud member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), as are those of many of my colleagues in the industry. I attend the IAPP Global Privacy Summit every year, and have done so since (I think) 2004. Yikes. Back in the early days, hundreds of individuals attended the conference in … Continue Reading
The coronavirus—or COVID-19—has health care experts scrambling, and has caused global concern for health and well-being due to its rapid spread throughout many countries, including the United States. A scare like this is the perfect opportunity for scammers and fraudsters to prey on well-intentioned people. Unfortunately, during this global health care concern, criminals are using … Continue Reading
Criminal minds are creative, and new ransomware strains show just how creative cyber-attackers can be. A new strain of ransomware, dubbed Ransomwared, requests a different kind of payment from the victim than the typical bitcoin request. Instead of paying for the decryption of data, or to prevent cyber-attackers from releasing private photos they have obtained … Continue Reading
A new study by Check Point Research shows that cyber criminals are using well-known brands to lure victims into clicking on nefarious links, providing personal information or credentials, or getting users to transfer money. This is an old malware trick that we used to see and now recognize. Scammers send a phishing email after copying … Continue Reading
Tax identity theft continues to be a significant problem for taxpayers. Tax identity theft occurs when criminals use the personal information of individuals and file fraudulent tax returns before the taxpayer does, requesting a refund. When the real taxpayer files his or her tax return, the IRS kicks it back, explaining that it has already … Continue Reading
I am on vacation this week in beautiful Jackson Hole. The skiing is epic, the restaurants amazing, 1921 silver dollars inlaid in the tops of two bars, elk and moose abound, and I’ve had a sighting of several coyotes, a badger, and owls. Sounds idyllic. It is for the most part, except for ransomware attacks. … Continue Reading
The same week that the National Institute of Standards and Technology came out with its Privacy Framework [view related post], highlighting how privacy is basically a conundrum, news articles also highlighted a new technology, Clearview AI, that allows someone to snap a picture of anyone walking down the street and instantly find out that person’s … Continue Reading
I don’t know much about dating apps. I met my husband decades ago, long before the Internet, and the old-fashioned way—in college. But I know people who have used them, have been happy with them, have found their life partner through them, have funny stories about using them and the people they met through them. … Continue Reading
Pretty much the only time I don’t feel like I am Chicken Little predicting a massive cyber-attack is when I am with my colleagues at the FBI, Secret Service, NSA and my students in the Brown Executive Masters of Cybersecurity who are members of the military. They don’t respond to my thoughts and fears of … Continue Reading
Three million fraud cases were reported to the FTC in 2018, and 444,602 of them involved identity theft. These reported cases (just think of how high the statistic would be if all cases were reported) amounts to the third most common type of fraud reported to the FTC. According to The Motley Fool, of those … Continue Reading
Holiday shopping is in full gear and everything seems to be an Internet of Things (IoT) device. It continues to amaze me how folks will buy IoT gadgets and plop them in their homes and have no idea that they include a speaker or camera, recording every move and word, or that they pose a … Continue Reading
For those of you who have downloaded the face editing app FaceApp, please note that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has classified FaceApp as a counterintelligence threat because of its Russian origins. According to the FBI, “[T]he FBI considers any mobile application or similar product developed in Russia, such as FaceApp, to be a … Continue Reading
If, like me, you travel a lot, listen up—the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office has issued an advisory as part of its fraud education campaign warning travelers not to use free USB charging stations offered in airports, hotels and other public places. According to the warning, “juice jacking” occurs when hackers have loaded malware into … Continue Reading
Biometric information is unique to each of us, including our fingerprints, voice, face, iris, and DNA. We can’t replace our biometric data like we can a credit card. If it is compromised, it is compromised forever. It is uber sensitive. Yet, many people give it away without a second thought. Luckily, there are privacy advocates … Continue Reading
