Luxury Brand Breach Reminds Us to Use Unique Credentials

Ok, so we may all not be able to don the luxury jewelry from Cartier like celebrities, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore cybersecurity news involving them. That’s because those are likely still learning opportunities for us all. In fact, a recent incident involving Cartier included customer data being stolen after a data breach of their website. This is on the heels of other data breaches of brands, not particularly luxury brands, such as Victoria’s Secret and The North Face. READ FULL STORY

Are You A Money Mule? What You Need To Know

Criminals of all kinds traffic in stolen money and need middlemen to relocate the funds. From romance scams to phishing attacks and more, there’s plenty of fraudsters with hijacked money needing laundering—and that’s where money mules come in handy. Unfortunately, sometimes those people are unaware of what they are doing, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be punished for it. Check out the red flags of avoiding becoming a money mule—and a criminal. READ FULL STORY

Ways To See If Your Data Has Been Stolen

With all the data breaches, whether by intrusion or accident lately, it’s likely your information was exposed somehow to someone you didn’t intend. After all, the marketing company Exactis, exposed hundreds of traits on us in 350 million records. Yahoo let out email addresses and passwords on billions of people, and of course who can forget the massive breach of Equifax just last year. There is a lot of information that gets leaked on us and the more the bad actors have on us, the more targeted their phishing campaigns can be. Checking on whether or not your data is available in the underground can help you mitigate any fraud or identity theft. READ FULL STORY

Account Takeover Fraud Steals Your Identity, Money, And More

With a significant swell in the number of those working from home, come the most historic levels of hacking the world has ever seen. Account takeover (ATO) fraud attacks have been growing yearly, accounting for much of the identity fraud-based financial losses to consumers and businesses. ATO fraud can lead to empty bank accounts and damaged reputations, and those recovering from an attack find it’s an expensive, time consuming, and frustrating task. READ FULL STORY

Is Your Wrist Wear A Security Risk?

Your smartwatch tracks your steps, displays your messages, and can even unlock your phone. It’s a tiny device with a lot of power. But all that convenience also means your watch could hold more personal information than you realize. From health data to email notifications, smartwatches store plenty of details that hackers would love to get their hands on. The good news is a few simple settings can help keep your smartwatch locked down so your personal data stays on your wrist and out of the wrong hands. READ FULL STORY

Your Homework Was Hacked--Canvas Breach Gives Students an Excuse to Avoid Studying

Students, faculty, and administrators across the country got an unexpected interruption to finals week after hackers linked to the cybercrime group ShinyHunters allegedly breached Instructure, the company behind the Canvas learning platform used by thousands of schools worldwide. While passwords and financial information do not currently appear to have been stolen, cybersecurity experts warn the data could still fuel phishing attacks, scams, impersonation attempts, and long-term identity risks for students and faculty alike. If you use or have used Canvas, now is the time to change passwords, watch for suspicious emails, and treat every “urgent” school message like it arrived wrapped in digital caution tape. READ FULL STORY

Senior Safety Online – AARP’s Top Tips For Data Security

It’s widely known that seniors are a choice target for cybercriminals. In fact, they are the second most target age group for cybersecurity crimes. Thanks to a publication by AARP “My Online Privacy for Seniors,” this e-book offers ways this vulnerable population can be smarter about their online security. It offers basic steps and strategies for keeping PII secure. Below are some of the AARP’s top online tips for seniors, so share them with an older friend or loved one – they’ll thank you for it. READ FULL STORY

Home Title Theft May Make Your Home No Longer Your Home

Imagine waking up to learn your home is no longer your home. No one broke in and held you hostage to get it, no one served you paperwork to get out, but suddenly you discover that the name on the deed to your property is no longer yours and no actual legal transfer took place. No broken windows. No moving trucks in the driveway. However, paperwork appears that says it’s no longer yours. But your home is no longer your home. What may have happened is deed fraud. READ FULL STORY

Financial Services Robust Security Forces Cybercriminals To Target Customers

Cybersecurity experts are focused on finding ways to foil attempts by cyber criminals to access information related to client accounts and the cyber criminals themselves, who are continually in search of loopholes in security solutions to access sensitive personal information. And if research from Akamai is true in their annual “State of the Internet” report, then cybersecurity teams are fighting a desperate fight against professional malware groups intent on using a variety of tactics. READ FULL STORY

Business Email Spoofing On The Rise

While the headlines are focused on ransomware attacks, spoofed emails are getting sneakier and more successful. Bad actors are always finding new ways to hack their way into businesses, and spoofing email addresses are proven way of doing just that. During the first 100 days of the coronavirus outbreak, spoofing attacks increased by 30%. This type of phishing email can sneak past antivirus security and lead to data theft, fraudulent wire transfers, ransomware, BEC (business email compromise), and more. READ FULL STORY

Common Signs Of Phishing To Keep In Mind When Your Inbox Overflows

With email phishing, deciphering what’s real from what’s fake can be a challenge. Our inboxes are stuffed with emails fighting to get our attention and get us to take some action. But how to ferret-out what’s legitimate takes some cyber-smarts. Research shows email is the primary method of spreading 92% of all malware, and the U.S. is the target of 86% of all email phishing attacks. Whether at home or at work, email phishing is relentless, but being aware of characteristics they have in common can be a powerful tool. READ FULL STORY

CAPTCHA Used as Bait For Growing Number Of Email Scams

Most of us are familiar with the funky CAPTCHA verification window that occasionally pops-up when signing onto a website. CAPTCHA systems lend a level of credibility to those of us asked to verify online that we’re human and not a bot. Seeing it makes us feel better about the site being more secure than others. After all, only a 100% legitimate website or service would dare use CAPTCHA, right? Wrong. This now Google-owned service has become a favorite bait for scammers who want you to believe they’re legitimate, and it’s working big-time. READ FULL STORY