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Phishing Scams
How to Prevent Phishing Scams
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert Recent reports abound of consumers email account being phished and American and Egyptian authorities arresting dozens of people in an online fraud crackdown for phishing scams. Its time to revisit the fundamentals of how to prevent phishing. Nobody can do this better than the Anti Phishing Work Group Phishing Defined Phishing is a criminal mechanism employing both social engineering and technical subterfu…
Top 5 Scams to Watch Out For
#1 Nigerian Scams: According to a Dutch study, victims of advanced-fee scams, which are also known as 419 scams or Nigerian scams, lost more than $9 billion in 2009, almost 50% more than the previous year. (This PDF contains the statistics from the study.) While these types of scams are generally understood to be Nigerian in nature and origin, and are in fact named after the 419 Nigerian code that made them illegal, advanced-fee scams were launc…
Tax Related Identity Theft Scams Up 300%
…9. That’s nearly 300 percent. Thieves may steal victims’ refunds, trick them into disclosing Social Security or credit card numbers, or even pose as the IRS. Below is more information for those common and lesser-known tax scams to watch out for. Employment Identity Theft Scams: If you ever receive documentation in the mail indicating earned income that you are not aware of, it may mean that someone else has used your Social Security numbe…
Phishing Scam: Using the U.S. General Commander in Iraq as Phish Food
ral and nobody will “discount” the value of their loved-one s life . So overall it’s a pretty good scam. Just don’t take the bait. Robert Siciliano personal security expert to ADT Home Security Source discussing Facebook scams on CNN. Disclosures ….
Criminal Hackers Clean Out Bank Accounts Using Spear Phishing
let him keep the inheritance his wife had inherited from her deceased uncle Bamboo. Phishing continues to become more sophisticated, more effective, and more prevalent. According to a recent study, a 52% increase in phishing scams occurred in July alone. Computerworld reports that basic phishing emails successfully led to corporate bank accounts being completely drained. Criminal hackers waited until Pennsylvania schools administrators were on v…
10 Ways To Prevent Phishing
Identity Theft Expert Robert Siciliano The Anti Phishing Working Group published a new report seeking to understand such trends by quantifying the scope of the global phishing problem, especially by examining domain name usage and phishing site uptimes. Phishing has always been attractive to criminals because it has low start-up costs and few barriers to entry. But by mid-2009, phishing was dominated by one player as never before—the ―Avalanc…
Phishing Remains Popular and Effective
timony from the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, phishing “remains the most popular attack method that criminals use to infect victims’ machines.” To protect yourself from phishing scams, malware, and identity theft, follow these guidelines adapted from the Anti-Phishing Working Group: Be suspicious of any email that demands personal financial information. Call your bank directly to determine if they…
iTunes a Platform for Phish Scammers
iTunes users all over the world are being hooked in a possible phishing scam that siphons cash out of their PayPal accounts. Phishing scams, of course, consist of emails that appear to be coming from a legitimate, trusted business. These emails are often designed to trick the victim into revealing login credentials. Once the phishers have access to the account, they begin withdrawing funds. In this case, scammers used victims’ iTunes accounts to…
Protect From Holiday Phishing Shipping Scams
roblem with delivery and reference a code. In these emails the scammers are trying various ruses to get you to either download a virus or cough up names, addresses, credit card, bank info and even usernames and passwords. The scams work because at this time of the year millions of people are getting stuff in the mail and expecting it. Scammers know there is a better chance that you will open an email, click a link, or even make a phone call in re…
Protect Yourself from Tax Time Scams
…panies. The number of daily targeted attacks specifically aimed at small and midsize businesses more than doubled in the first six months of 2012. One of the best ways to help protect yourself is to be aware of these tax time scams. Some of these are: Phishing scams: Unsolicited emails that appear to be from the IRS or an organization closely linked to the IRS, such as the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) asking for personal informat…
THIEVES INITIATE NEW IDENTITY THEFT SCAMS IN TIME FOR TAX SEASON
uni-ball® teams with Identity Theft Resource Center and Identity Theft Expert Robert Siciliano to Warn Consumers of Latest Scams and Offer Anti-Theft Solutions Oak Brook , Ill. – March 4, 2009 – Tax time scams are at an all-time high, according to Robert Siciliano, well-known identity and security theft expert and author of the book “The Safety Minute: How to Take Control of Personal Security and Prevent Fraud.” As economic pressure…
The Twelve Scams of Christmas," or Popular Online Attacks This Holiday Season Pt IV of IV
Robert Siciliano identity theft expert Cybercriminals Take Advantage of the Holiday Season, Aiming to Steal Consumers’ Money, Identities and Financial Information As cybercriminals begin to take advantage of the holiday season, McAfee, Inc. revealed the “Twelve Scams of Christmas” – the twelve most dangerous online scams that computer users should be cautious of this holiday season. According to Consumer Reports’ 2009 State of the Net Survey…
Be Aware of Tax Time Scams
The Internal Revenue Service has issued its annual “Dirty Dozen” ranking of tax scams, reminding taxpayers to use caution during tax season to protect themselves against a wide range of schemes ranging from identity theft to return preparer fraud. An IRS notice informing a taxpayer that more than one return was filed in the taxpayer’s name or that the taxpayer received wages from an unknown employer may be the first tip off the individual receiv…
Beware Of 10 Tax-time Scams
We are approaching tax time. Scammers are ramped up and looking for your money. Learn these tax season scam tips and watch your back. 1. Text messaging scams or smishing a.k.a Phexting. Like phishing but texting. Criminal hackers have access to technology that generates cell phone numbers and access to mass text messaging services. They send texts that install keyloggers or direct you to websites that steal your data. 2. Tax preparer scams. Repo…
Phisher Use Olympic Lottery Scams For Summer Games
Fishing, of course, is the sport of tossing a baited hook into the water and then patiently waiting for a fish to bite. Phishing is similar. The cybercrook sends out spam email and waits for a victim to take the bait. A phisher can send thousands of phishing emails a day, and eventually some people will get hooked. Phishing is a multi-billion dollar business. Unlike the ongoing depletion of the ocean’s fisheries, there are still plenty of people…
The Twelve Scams of Christmas," or Popular Online Attacks This Holiday Season Pt I of IV
Robert Siciliano identity theft expert Cybercriminals Take Advantage of the Holiday Season, Aiming to Steal Consumers’ Money, Identities and Financial Information As cybercriminals begin to take advantage of the holiday season, McAfee, Inc. revealed the “Twelve Scams of Christmas” – the twelve most dangerous online scams that computer users should be cautious of this holiday season. According to Consumer Reports’ 2009 State of the Net Survey,…
Approaching Holidays Bring “12 Scams of Christmas”
Whether you like it or not, whether you’re ready or not, the Christmas machine has arrived—well before Thanksgiving—at least as far as stores and advertisers are concerned. And there’s no question that scammers, identity thieves, and criminal hackers have already begun setting traps for holiday shoppers. So whether they’re using PCs, Macs, or mobile devices, consumers should be looking out for “The 12 Scams of Christmas”: the dozen most dangerou…