Identity Theft

With colleges and universities beginning the new school year, online students are targeted in ID Theft and Fraud schemes!  Online Fraud Schemes that we did not have to worry about when I was in school.  I had the time of my life and made many lifetime friends when I attended the University of Dayton!  Student life was simple, no laptops, no smartphones, no social media, socializing at the library, and the music was fantastic.  But what is happening now? Now more than ever, Laptops, Smartphones, Social Media, and advanced schemes have increased the risk for students. Risks that now are more prevalent due to the majority of students studying online remotely, due to the COVID-19 pandemic,  creating higher risk.  And this May 27, 2020, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) article titled COVID-19 scams targeting college students confirms it.  With a significant increase in phony LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social media friend […]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sends out warnings of emerging Health Care Schemes related to the COVID-19 Pandemic   The FBI is warning the public about several emerging health care fraud schemes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Criminals are actively manipulating the COVID-19 pandemic to their advantage,” said Calvin A. Shivers, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “We ask all Americans to remain vigilant to avoid falling victim to these schemes.” Bad actors are selling fake COVID-19 test kits and unapproved treatments through telemarketing calls, social media platforms, and door-to-door visits. Many scammers promise free care to patients in order to gain access to their personal and health insurance information, including their dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and financial data. The FBI wants the public to be aware of the following schemes:   COVID-19 Testing Schemes Beware of individuals who contact you in person, by phone, […]

I read a great article last week by Risk Based Security – a leader in vulnerability intelligence – about modern phishing attempts (please see here) and how Coronavirus Fear and Anxiety Drives Phishing Scams.  “malicious attackers are targeting unsuspecting people on the web.”  This article said there was a “tendency to associate phishing with crude boilerplate emails, dubious attachments, and poor attention spans”.   But, sophisticated “attackers were spoofing system update prompts or redirecting users to pages with all sorts of dubious code.” But it gets worse. Cyber thieves and ID theft criminals didn’t are already taking advantage of fear and anxiety surrounding the global COVID-19 pandemic. Risk-Based Security then released another article titled Coronavirus Isn’t the Only Virus Going Around (please see here) reporting that “malicious attackers will always find new ways to target individuals and organizations. This time, hackers are installing malware on computers and harvesting user credentials by preying on […]