Watch Out for Juneteenth-Themed Scams This Holiday

As Juneteenth celebrations take place across the country, cybercriminals are taking advantage of the holiday's growing visibility. Security experts are warning consumers to be cautious of phishing emails, text messages, and social media posts that use Juneteenth-related themes to steal personal information, passwords, or financial data. Scammers often capitalize on holidays and major events because people are more likely to trust messages that appear connected to community celebrations, special promotions, or charitable causes. Juneteenth is no exception. READ FULL STORY

A Single Slip Unlocked 900,000 Records From Identity Protection Company

It didn’t take malware, zero-days, or Hollywood-style hacking rigs. Just one convincing voice on the phone. In a breach that feels less like a cyberattack and more like a con artist’s magic trick, identity protection firm Aura lost control of roughly 900,000 records after an employee was duped into opening the digital front door. The incident is a stark reminder that even the strongest security systems can crumble when human trust is weaponized. READ FULL STORY

Users Get Tricked Into Falsely Updating Google Services

The TrickMo Android banking trojan has re-emerged in a new form, disguised as a fake Google Chrome app for Android. Once installed, this malicious app prompts users to update Google Play Services, tricking them into downloading TrickMo under the guise of "Google Services." By doing so, it gains access to critical permissions, including those for the device's accessibility settings, which it then exploits to perform various malicious activities. 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

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

Instagram’s Helper Bot Helps Hijackers Get Access to Your Account

For years, cybercriminals have relied on phishing emails, malware, and stolen passwords to break into online accounts. Now, some attackers appear to have found a shortcut hiding in plain sight: Meta's own AI-powered support system. Security researchers say hackers were able to trick Instagram's automated support chatbot into helping them take over user accounts, raising fresh concerns about the risks of allowing artificial intelligence to perform sensitive account recovery tasks. The incident serves as another reminder that convenience and security do not always make good roommates. 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

When What You See Is Not What You Get

Although it may sound strange, bad actors are exploiting what we see – or what we think we see. Always looking for new ways to gain our confidence, cybercriminals are counting on us being human to make this con work. Trust, fear, and concern are some of the emotions being exploited, which is nothing new for hackers. But what is new is taking advantage of our assumption that when we see a trusted website, it’s worthy of our trust…Well, maybe not so much anymore. READ FULL STORY

One Billion Records Exposed When MongoDB Database Found Unsecured

A newly discovered data leak tied to identity verification company IDMerit has exposed an enormous amount of personal information online. Security researchers say the database contained more than a billion sensitive records, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and national identification details. While the database has since been secured, the incident shows how a single misconfigured system can put massive amounts of personal data at risk. If your information was included, scammers and identity thieves could use it for fraud, phishing, or account takeovers. Taking a few steps now can help protect your personal data before criminals try to exploit 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