In 2013, there was a new identity fraud victim every two seconds according to a study conducted by Javelin Strategy and Research. While data breaches accounted for about a third of the fraud, account takeovers made up more than a quarter of the results. One way to help improve your chances in fighting these staggering statistics is to use two-step verification to secure … [Read more...] about Two-step verification can help improve online security
Scams & Cons
Contest scams — not just in email
Last week’s tip was about the Visit London contest emails currently being sent by scammers. This is another case where scammers have adopted a legitimate contest and used it as a lure to bring you to their website, not the official one.Contest scams - 3 tips to avoid an email scamThe rules are simple for avoiding email scams and you probably already know them.1) If … [Read more...] about Contest scams — not just in email
Visit London contest email is a scam
Visit London contest How would you like to visit London for free? Sure. I’d love to win the visit London contest. And, in yesterday’s mailbag there was an email about a visit London contest from VisitLondon.com. The prize included round trip airfare, a four-night stay in a Radisson-Blu Edwardian London hotel, and tickets to exhibitions and shows in London. The visit London … [Read more...] about Visit London contest email is a scam
Low-Tech & High-Risk: 3 Inventive Ways to Steal Personal Data
One common misconception about fraud and identity theft is that it takes a highly intelligent, tech-savvy person to perpetrate an attack. Sure, it requires a special breed of hacker to carry out a large-scale intrusion like last year's Target credit card breach or the more recent Ashley Madison scandal, but the majority of incidents happen on a much smaller scale and the … [Read more...] about Low-Tech & High-Risk: 3 Inventive Ways to Steal Personal Data
International phone call scam
I recently received an email from reader Tom Z. asking if I was familiar with international phone call scam. He specifically mentioned the 809 area code, which is based in the Dominican Republic. The scam is also known as the “one ring” phone scam and often targets cellular users.At some point, everyone receives a call from a number they don’t recognize. I’ve cautioned … [Read more...] about International phone call scam