It’s Healthcare Open Enrollment Season. Don’t Sign Up With a Scammer

It's the time of year when millions of people are comparing healthcare plans, checking prices, and trying to figure out what healthcare coverage makes the most sense for the coming year. Whether you’re reviewing Medicare options or browsing Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans, you’ve got until mid-December to lock in your choices. But while you’re doing your homework, cybercriminals are doing theirs — and they’re already flooding inboxes, texts, and phone lines with scams designed to steal your personal and financial information. READ FULL STORY

Invoice Phishing’s Hidden Agenda

There’s a not-so-new cybercrime hitting inboxes everywhere and it’s using phishing invoices to install a variety of malware, including an info-stealer. While some of us regularly get invoices in our inbox for this or that, we should all be aware of this invoice-themed phishing attack that’s likely to show up to collect payment in your email soon. This invoice phishing attack, like most others, takes advantage of something we cannot avoid: Being human. READ FULL STORY

Who Needs the Key If You’re Just Going to Open the Door for Attackers

Cybercriminals are finding a clever way around one of our favorite security defenses: passwords and multi-factor authentication. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center is warning about a rise in OAuth consent phishing attacks, where criminals trick victims into granting a malicious app access to their email, files or other account information. The frightening part? You may never give the attacker your password at all. We have been told for years to protect our passwords and turn on multi-factor authentication. Good advice that is still valid, but the FBI is warning about a phishing trick that can sometimes sidestep both. READ FULL STORY

Your Home Is Safe. Your Information Might Not Be

Brinks Home is supposed to help keep criminals out of your house. Unfortunately, the company itself recently became a target. Cybercriminal group ShinyHunters claims it stole millions of records from Brinks Home and, after the company refused to pay a ransom, published roughly 41 GB of stolen data. The good news is that the company's alarm monitoring systems were not compromised. The bad news? Personal information potentially exposed in the attack could give scammers another way to target customers with convincing phishing emails, texts and phone calls. READ FULL STORY

Keeping Your Information More Private and Out of the Hands of Attackers

It’s no secret, especially after the recent revelation of the NPD breach, that our information is everywhere online. This is true whether we intentionally allowed it or not. There are numerous websites that collect information about us and post it online. Many are “people search” sites. If you’ve ever looked up an unfamiliar phone number, some of these likely showed up. Well-known lookup sites have all kinds of information on all of us. The challenge is to keep this information from making you a victim of a phishing attack or identity theft. READ FULL STORY

Avoiding Insurance Fraud And Fraudsters

Insurance fraud is a problem everywhere and it makes things more expensive for those of us playing by the rules. With this fraud in particular, whether it’s for our health, car, or home, fraudsters are scamming like never before. Suspecting a sketchy seller and policy in an open marketplace can help prevent a potential nightmare. Knowing tell-tale signs of insurance fraud when we see it is smart shopping, and the information below will help. READ FULL STORY

Your Financial Institution Is Calling. Or Is It?

A phone call that looks like it’s coming from your financial institution could be the opening move in a fast-moving chess game the FBI is warning about. Using spoofed numbers and convincing scripts, criminals create a sense of urgency, claiming your account is under attack. The next move includes a carefully guided attempt to extract passwords, verification codes, or even push you to move your own money straight into their hands. Knowing when to hang up could be the difference between staying secure and watching your account drained in a flash. READ FULL STORY

Hackers Flush Out Users’ Google Credentials

Hackers have begun employing a new annoyance technique to steal Google account passwords. This tactic, called credential flushing, relies on getting malware onto a device that locks the system into “kiosk mode.” In this mode, users are prevented from doing anything else without providing their account credentials. Once the victim provides them, hackers can log into the victim’s Google account and steal personal information or further compromise their online security. READ FULL STORY

Simple Habits That Make You a Tougher Target for Cybercrooks

It’s already well into the new year and a fresh year usually brings fresh goals—exercise more, spend less, maybe try a new hobby. But one resolution that deserves a permanent spot on everyone’s list is tightening up your personal cybersecurity. Cyberthreats don’t take holidays, and scammers aren’t slowing down. In fact, they’re getting bolder, trickier, and faster at finding new ways to get into your accounts and steal your money or data. 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

Social Media Brings Out The Worst Scammers

Social media attacks are a favorite of those pesky cybercriminals. One might wonder why. Well, it’s because it’s easy pickin's going for those accounts. Researchers at Arkose Labs found that of 1.2 billion social media interactions, 53% of the logins were fraudulent and 25% of new accounts were phony. Millions of people use one form of social media or another, whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, or something else. That leaves a barrel full of phish used for targets for hackers and scammers. READ FULL STORY

Social Media Free Giveaway Scams Come With Hefty Costs

That $1,000 Amazon gift card you were promised for filling out a survey was never intended to be paid but is in fact a giveaway scam you just fell for. You may think there’s no real harm in filling out a bogus survey, but the real thing about these scams is that it’s stealing your PII (personally identifiable information). The enduring and timeless nature of scam giveaways show that, people don’t change much when it comes to getting something for nothing. READ FULL STORY