I knew I would get it. It was just a matter of time. The dreaded breach notification email from Starwood Hotels/Marriott hit my inbox this Monday. As you know, I am one that is serious about data privacy. I have received notification of data breaches of my information before, and what irks me is that … Continue Reading
We previously commented on the risks around the United State Postal Service’s (USPS) “Informed Visibility” service, which allows customers to preview their mail to inform them when it will be delivered. Some security experts recommend that customers opt out of the program so an account cannot be opened in your name. Last week, it was … Continue Reading
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a warning to consumers about an email that appears to come from “IRS Online.” The email is designed to get the recipient to click on an attachment labeled “Tax Account Transcript” or “tax transcript,” which is infected with the Emotet malware. Tax transcripts are summaries of your tax … Continue Reading
It’s that time. The holidays and shopping deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Here is some helpful information to consider while shopping this weekend. A new study from RiskIQ—its 2018 Black Friday E-commerce Blacklist states that “This Thanksgiving weekend, threat actors are poised to claim a pretty big slice of the e-commerce pie.” How, you … Continue Reading
Criminals have been able to get individuals to wire funds to them for years. It is an old scam that still works. One of the companies that have been used by criminals in the past for wire fraud is MoneyGram, which was sued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2009 and required to put … Continue Reading
The United State Postal Service (USPS) launched a program called “Informed Delivery” with the goal to assist consumers in protecting themselves from identity theft. The program allows consumers to register an account on usps.gov which allows one to view scanned images of all of their incoming mail for free. However, it is being reported that … Continue Reading
It used to be that caller ID was a helpful tool to determine whether the person on the other end of the line was someone you knew. If the caller ID came up as unknown, you could decide not to answer the phone. Sometimes a call might come in and you don’t recognize the actual … Continue Reading
Small businesses are targeted by hackers because they often do not have the resources to stay abreast of new schemes, or to protect against them with the latest technology or security solutions. Small businesses have historically struggled with data security, so any help is always welcome. Recognizing that small businesses struggle with data security, the … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced yesterday that it will release on a quarterly basis instead of annually an aggregated report of all of the consumer complaints lodged by individuals . The goal is to provide more up-to-date information about what consumers are experiencing so others can learn from them and protect themselves from becoming … Continue Reading
I often hear people say that they have no control of their data, that their data is being monetized by big companies, that they don’t know what those companies are doing with their data, that they are frustrated when they receive notification that their data has been compromised, and they didn’t even know that company … Continue Reading
Facebook announced late last week that it had suffered the largest breach in its history with 50 million accounts were compromised, and another 40 million accounts affected. Yes, that equals 90 million accounts. If you use Facebook and were locked out of your account over the weekend, your account was most likely affected. The 50 … Continue Reading
California lawmakers have taken the lead in trying to address privacy and security issues with Internet of Things (IoT) devices (which we have been writing about for years), by passing the country’s first IoT security bill, which is now headed to Governor Brown’s desk for signature by September 30. One of the issues addressed by … Continue Reading
The recent tragedy with gas customers in Massachusetts has everyone focused on their utilities. Which makes it a perfect time for scam artists to take advantage of worried customers—both individuals and small businesses. One scam making headway is when a fraudster calls a customer over the telephone telling them that their water, electricity or gas … Continue Reading
As Hurricane Florence bears down on the Carolinas in the next few days, beware of scammers trying to take advantage of the good hearts of those of us who want to help the victims. We have seen it before, and no doubt it will happen again in the next few weeks as the devastation of … Continue Reading
An old trick is coming back and working. It is a wire fraud scheme targeted at homeowners instead of businesses, and it is happening at an alarming rate. Here’s how it works: An individual is in the process of purchasing a home. Most of the communication in real estate transactions these days is done via … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulates the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), which requires marketing entities to eliminate from telemarketing campaigns telephone numbers that are listed on the Do-Not-Call Registry (the Registry). Although many of us have both our residential and cell phone numbers listed with the Registry, we still get many, many annoying and inconvenient … Continue Reading
I am speaking at a conference in one of my favorite cities (okay, it’s Chicago) and I was having dinner at the bar when the patron next to me asked me what I do for a living. I am a friendly sort of person and like to meet new people, so I told her what … Continue Reading
If you have bought a new cell phone recently, you have seen that the technology of the newest smart phones is far more advanced than in the past, and have features that most people don’t understand or use. When I conduct employee education for companies on data privacy and security, I devote a portion of … Continue Reading
Many readers questioned me about the Wall Street Journal article this week entitled, “Facebook to Banks: Give Us Your Data, We’ll Give you Our Users.” The questions and comments ranged from “Can they really do this?” to “This is outrageous!” Without getting into a legal analysis, there are laws that banks have to follow when … Continue Reading
The BBC recently posted a story about one of its employees who had access through a mobile app to someone else’s video footage of their home security camera. The security camera was manufactured by Swann. Following the story, a group of security researchers from Pen Test Partners decided to check it out and bought several … Continue Reading
We previously reported that LifeLock suffered a data breach and has been sued by the Federal Trade Commission for allegations of misleading customers [view related post], for which it settled with the FTC for $116 million [view related post] and then settled a suit alleging false statements to customers for $68 million [view related post]. … Continue Reading
Wearable technology and medical devices have vulnerabilities just like anything else that is digital. ICS-CERT recently issued an advisory about vulnerabilities in Medtronic’s MyCareLink patient heart monitors. These devices are implantable cardiac devices that transmit patients’ heart rhythms directly to a provider. The alert notes that vulnerabilities identified in the devices could be exploited by … Continue Reading
Timehop, an app that allows users to find and claim old photos and posts on social media, has reported a data breach of its cloud computing environment on July 4, 2018, which compromised 20.4 million accounts, 3.8 million of which are in the GDPR zone. According to an updated posting on its website yesterday, the … Continue Reading
Summer is finally here, and with summer comes vacations. Some of us are planners and plan vacations far in advance. Others look for last-minute finds that include “super savers.” If you are looking for a super saver, be aware that scammers are using different methods to commit fraud on unwary vacationers looking for vacation rentals. … Continue Reading
