We have educated our readers about phishing, smishing, QRishing, and vishing scams, and now we’re warning you about what we have dubbed “snailing.” Yes, believe it or not, threat actors have gone retro and are using snail mail to try to extort victims. TechRadar is reporting that, according to GuidePoint Security, an organization received several
Privacy Tip #429 – Threat Actors Continue to Use QR Codes For Fraudulent Purposes
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
We have repeatedly warned our readers about malicious QR codes and their use by threat actors.
Threat actors are now using these codes to disguise packages as gifts. Upon opening the package, recipients find a note with instructions to scan a QR code to identify the sender. The code launches a website that asks for…
PRIVACY TIP #418 – New Phishing Scheme Uses Scarce Weight Loss Drugs as Hook
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
Scammers are always looking for new ways to dupe victims. If you battle your weight, you think about it a lot and are always looking for easier ways to lose some pounds. There is no easy way, but we are always looking for an easier way.
With the advent of GLP-1 weight loss drugs and…
Privacy Tip #417 – Scammers Using Hurricane Relief Aid to Commit Fraud
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
Unfortunately, when natural disasters hit innocent victims and good-natured people want to help those in need, scammers swoop in to manipulate the bleak situation to commit fraud or price gouging.
Following Hurricanes Helene and Milton , the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Justice, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a warning…
New Threat: Scattered Spider International Coalition of Hackers
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Cybersecurity
Cyber adversaries in China and Russia continue to be a formidable threat to U.S. based companies. In the past, scams might be detected because a word was misspelled or the context didn’t make sense. Now, with the help of young Western hackers, cyber adversaries in Russia will be able to use insider knowledge of language…
Privacy Tip #389 – FTC Outlines Top Scams in 2023
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) keeps track of scams that are reported to it and summarizes those scams in a report outlining the most successful scams of the prior year.
Last year’s statistics are disturbing, as many of the same techniques from previous years are still being used successfully by threat actors. Old scams are…
Privacy Tip #386 – What? Gen Z is Bigger Cybersecurity Risk than Boomers
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
OK boomers—instead of being on the end of an “OK boomer” comment, now you have some ammunition. Boomers have been reported to be less of a cybersecurity vulnerability to the workforce than Gen Z. An article by Karina Zapata of CBC News outlines findings from cybersecurity tech company Check Point that posit Gen Z as…
Privacy Tip #379 – Protecting Veterans from Scams
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
Let us take time this week to thank current members of the military and all veterans for their service in protecting our country and democracy. As the daughter of a veteran, I am profoundly grateful to all of our service members who put their lives and families at risk every day, and those that forged…
Privacy Tip #371 – Internet Safety Guide for Seniors
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
I was talking to a client today about a security incident and the discussion turned to how threat actors are using increasingly more sophisticated ways to attack individuals and companies. She lamented that we know more than the average individual about how they implement attacks, but she worries about her mother, who is frequently online.
Social Media Enables Social Engineering Scams
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in New + Now
The more one uses and shares on social media, the more information is publicly available for cyber attackers to use to exploit users’ personal and professional information.
It is hard for people to realize that every single thing shared on any social media platform is available for friends and foes alike to access and use.