You reuse passwords, add exclamation marks to them, and are confident you won’t be hacked. Have a seat, we’ve been waiting for you. You are looking for a book. It’s not on Amazon; it’s not on Indigo. But it’s on this website you’ve never seen before, so you create an account and go to the checkout. It asks for a password and, after thinking hard for two seconds, you type Letmein1!, your favorite default password for one-off accounts like this. …
Cyber fraud is a catch-all term for endless schemes to fool users into giving assets access to their data or information. Each ploy has its own personality and tools. Today we take a closer look. The goal of cyber fraud schemes is the same: impersonate legitimate users or companies and collect sensitive information or assets for monetary gain. As cyberattacks become the norm, they rely on common techniques and tools to reach their goals. Here are some examples, as seen …
Let’s be honest, most Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases this year will happen from our sofa. And fraudsters will be sitting right next to us. These are some of their latest tricks, so that when their scams are calling, we ignore them. The 2020 holiday season will be unlike any other we’ve experienced. In many cases, COVID-19 will keep us in our own homes and away from crowded stores. That may be a good way to curb spending, but …
“Car.” “Chris.” “Lizard.” Online accounts with one-word names like these are known as “OG usernames,” and they’re prime targets for bad actors who steal, buy and sell access on a lucrative black market. OG stands for “original gangster,” a reference to the fact that many of these usernames are held by early adopters of the apps and platforms in question. A recent episode of the Reply All podcast followed a Snapchat user named Lizzie whose OG username, “Lizard,” was stolen …
Online fraud can be pretty insidious, especially if you think you’re doing everything right. But fraud is becoming more sophisticated and the bad guys know technology. Many of them use advanced software that can reduce days of drudgery to mere hours of research and collecting insecure private information for their own use. First and foremost: think and verify before giving out any personal information. Be fastidious when asked for your information and always request the person’s credentials. Be wary of …