Operation Empty Promises Targets Job Scams

/in /by

The recession may have waned, but we aren’t out of the woods yet. The unemployment rate is still a staggering 9.5%. That’s millions of people without a job. Many who were displaced eventually got lower paying jobs, and are barely able to get by.

Jobseekers’ desperation for employment makes them vulnerable to work-from-home scams and fake job listings.

The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that it has ”stepped up its ongoing campaign against scammers who falsely promise guaranteed jobs and opportunities to ‘be your own boss’ to consumers who are struggling with unemployment and diminished incomes as a consequence of the economic downturn.”

Criminals take advantage of increasing unemployment with fake job listings, designed to trick applicants into disclosing their Social Security numbers. Some scammers who more closely resemble legitimate companies make millions by blanketing classified advertisements across the country, roping people in with false promises.

One company offered to help workers start their own Internet business and earn up to $10,000 a month, ultimately defrauding victims out of $40 million in fees. Another advertised fake sales jobs on CareerBuilder.com and charged applicants for background checks. In another instance, scammers made false claims about the earnings potential of stuffing circulars into envelopes. Another scam advertised an angel pin assembly kit, with which one could supposedly earn up to $500 per week, no experience, special tools, or sewing skills required. The worst scam offered to help consumers recover money lost to other scammers, for a fee of up to $499.

If a job description doesn’t sound like something you would see printed on a business card, or if you are asked to front money, it’s a scam.

Robert Siciliano, personal security and identity theft expert contributor to iovation, discusses money mules and job scams on Fox News. (Disclosures)

Identity Theft Tops Consumer Complaints for Eleventh Year

/in /by

The Federal Trade Commission recently released the list of the most common consumer complaints in 2010. Identity theft topped the list for the eleventh year in a row. The FTC received 1,339,265 in 2010, and 250,854, or 19%, involved identity theft. In second place, there were 144,159 debt collection complaints.

For the first time, “imposter scams,” in which imposters pose as friends, family, respected companies, or government agencies in order to persuade consumers to send money, made the top ten. The FTC has issued a new consumer alert to help consumers avoid imposter scams.

FTC spokeswoman Claudia Bourne Farrell commented, “Most people don’t know how their identity was stolen. If you lose your wallet on Monday and Tuesday someone starts using your cards, you have a pretty good educated guess. Otherwise you don’t. And how would you know if someone stole your identity on the Internet?”

More than half of complaints to the FTC involved some other type of fraud. 45% of those scams were initiated via email, including phishing emails. 11% of the scams originated from websites, and 19% were initiated over the phone.

Protect yourself from identity theft and other varieties of fraud by locking your mailbox to prevent stolen mail, storing sensitive paperwork in a locked file cabinet, and shredding any documents that include a name or account number before discarding them.

Protect your PC by installing antivirus and spyware removal software, and keeping your PC’s critical security patches updated.

To ensure peace of mind, subscribe to an identity theft protection service, such as McAfee Identity Protection, which offers proactive identity surveillance and lost wallet protection. If your credit or debit cards are ever lost, stolen or misused without your authorization, you can call McAfee Identity Protection and they’ll help you cancel them and order new ones. If their product fails, you’ll be reimbursed for any stolen funds not covered by your bank or credit card company. (See McAfee’s guarantee for details.)

For additional tips, visit CounterIdentityTheft.com.

Robert Siciliano is a McAfee consultant and identity theft expert. See him explain how to protect yourself from identity theft on CounterIdentityTheft.com. (Disclosures)

Remote Control Home Alarm Provides Additional Security

/in /by

Some painters were recommended to me by referral. By all accounts, they were hard workers and reputable.  Because of my normal home security obsessed nature, I’d generally do some type of background check on the owner and get something of a background check from him on his employees. However, because of the time crunch of the project, and the fact I was away while my interior was being painted, that wasn’t an option here.

Fortunately, I have the ADT Pulse™ home automation system that lets me check in on every aspect of my homes activity remotely.

After the floor sanders left the home, the painters came in right after. I was able to monitor and watch their progress via my internal security cameras and monitor my home security, as well. I have some funny video of painters face up against my cameras like curious creatures happening upon technology in a wilderness PBS documentary. Funny stuff!

Anyway, the remote home control system allows me to set up automatic recording of the cameras every time a motion sensor detects movement. The painters were given specific instruction of where to paint and where not to paint, which also meant where on the house they were allowed to be.

For example, the bedrooms were NOT to be painted, which meant there should be absolutely no triggering of the motion detector or cameras in that wing of the home. And, I can happily say at no point in time my cameras automatically record the standard 30 seconds of video when the motions are tripped in the bedroom wing.  I know this because I was able to access my system from thousands of miles away over the internet and see all movement and recorded incidents.

Further, in the office area, I have all kinds of technology that I wasn’t able to remove from the home and there are office cabinets that nobody should be snooping in. The painters had a job to do in that area and my cameras detected and recorded constant movement. In reviewing the footage, I concluded they in fact did their jobs and at no time snooped or violated my home security. I love that “I know”.

And finally after they left, the concern was they now knew the “lay of the land” and every aspect of my home security. So if anyone of the painters was a part time burglar, he was able to case my home from the inside, and would know how to easily break in. He could also unlock a window to help him out.

However, my home alarm has sensors on each window and upon remotely monitoring my system I determined one of the windows was in fact left propped open.  More than likely this was done by accident. So, I called a friend over to lock it and make sure all the other doors and windows were properly locked.

Once my friend left, I was able to remotely set the alarm via my iPhone to “away status” which meant all the sensors were armed including the motion detectors. Even if I couldn’t get a friend over to shut and lock all the windows, I could still set the alarm and it would “protest” the open window but still activate. And even if the “painter/burglar” came in through the unlocked window, the motion sensor would pick him up and go off. Nice. Thanks ADT Pulse™!

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing ADT Pulse™ on Fox News.

Most Willing to Pay to Reduce Identity Theft Risk

/in /by

When you compare the cost of various services, you begin to see how much your time is worth. For example, it would take most homeowners a significant chunk of nights and weekends to paint a house themselves, but a professional crew can get it done in a week, for a reasonable price.

Recovering from identity theft can take as little as an hour for some, or up to several hundred hours for others. For some, it takes a lifetime. The average identity theft victim loses anywhere from $2800.00 to $5100.00, which, coincidentally, happens to be roughly the cost of painting a house!

Nicole Piquero, one of the most distinguished female criminologists in the nation, according to The Journal of Criminal Justice Education, explains, “Identity theft, also known as ‘identity fraud,’ has affected between 5 and 25 percent of U.S. households. Because of our increasing reliance on technology, and given the resourcefulness of hard-to-catch identity thieves, it seems likely that most if not all of us will at some point be victims of this crime or know others that have been.”

Piquero and her spouse, Alex Piquero, who has made significant scholarly contributions to the field, conducted a study that “reveals that most individuals will agree to a small tax increase to support government-sponsored identity theft prevention efforts.”

Unfortunately, the government isn’t doing anything to protect you. Fortunately, McAfee Identity Protection includes proactive identity surveillance to monitor subscribers’ credit and personal information, as well as access to live fraud resolution agents.

For additional tips, visit CounterIdentityTheft.com.

Robert Siciliano is a McAfee consultant and identity theft expert. See him discuss identity theft on YouTube. (Disclosures)

Home Security Cameras Keep Contractors Honest

/in /by

I’m in Mexico, but by the time this is posted I’ll be manning the watch tower at my fort. While I want to detail every adventure and post it as a status update (this country is very interesting), I haven’t, and I’ll never post in social media, that’s just plain nuts.

So anyways, while I’m gone I’m having a considerable amount of work done to the castle such as floor sanding and painting. It’s all stuff that’s better off being done while I’m gone because it’s somewhat unhealthy (and very inconvenient) to live around.  Painting and the dust and polyurethane fumes generated from floor sanding is just too much for babies. Plus I’m a delicate flower.

I have no less than half dozen workers in and out of my home over the course of 2 weeks and lots can go wrong when the homeowner isn’t there to observe. Mistakes can be made and stuff can be stolen. I locked up most of what’s valuable, but things like desktop PCs are just too difficult to remove and relocate.

But no fear, thanks to my automated home system I’m able to monitor every detail of the process. My home security cameras can be accessed from my laptop and iPhone to monitor where the contractors are supposed to be and more importantly where they aren’t supposed to be in the home while I’m away.

The first contractor was the floor sander. And, did that process need my involvement from thousands of miles away?!  When they first got to the home they needed to access the fusebox to tap into it so the sander wouldn’t constantly pop a breaker. They never told me they needed to do that. Anyway, I directed them to the fusebox from afar and monitored the bosses’ activity through my home and from my mechanical room camera. It’s a good thing too because he ran his power cable out the window and when he was done he never shut the window. I knew this because my ADT Pulse™ home automation system alerted me that the window was open because of a sensor installed on it.  It rained and snowed that night and if I didn’t call him back to shut the window, it would have been a wet mess that would have caused interior damage.

Prior to leaving, I had shut off the heat because you don’t want the forced hot air furnace blowing dust around or sucking dust into a return air when sanding. But when he applied the polyurethane it was too cold inside and didn’t dry enough for him to complete the job over the two days allocated for the project. If he had to come back again on a third day he was going to charge me extra he said.

I was able to avert an extra charge and turn my home automated heat back on from Mexico via my iPhone and even raise the temperature to a toasty 75 to quickly dry the floor. Problem solved!

And then, there were the painters. Oh boy. That’s another story.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing ADT Pulse™ on Fox News.

Dumb Pizza Burglar Stuck In Vent

/in /by

Oh the beauty of stupidity. Not a day goes by that some dolt breaks the law and makes himself look like a total buffoon.

This burglar decided to break into a pizza parlor through an exit: the smoke vent. If you’ve ever walked behind a strip mall where there is a restaurant you know which unit houses the fry-o-lator, it’s the one that has globs of grease dripping down the side of the building via the vent.

Mr. Grease Monkey climbed inside the vent, got stuck, fell halfway through the duct, screamed for help and cops showed up and saw two dangling legs sticking out of the vent!

Police said he was extremely distraught and shouted for assistance. Firefighters took roughly 30 minutes to dislodge him.

The Times Union reports in “his mugshot, his face, white T-shirt and jeans were coated in grease and grime. The dumb criminal was on parole after being released from prison on Jan. 27, 2010. Records show he has served five previous prison stints for burglary or attempted burglary dating back to 1992.”

Sounds like he has a problem.

Officials say he did extensive damage to the duct and the fire suppression system. More than likely the damage done would equate to thousands of dollars in repairs and money lost due to the restaurants inability to serve their customers.

Often burglars do more damage in dollars to the home/business than they are able to steal.

Whether a commercial or residential installation a security system goes far to protect the premises. Home security alarms equipped with home security cameras, glass break sensors and signage is a great investment to protect your investment.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing ADTPulse on Fox News.

Springtime Home Improvement Scams Coming

/in /by

This is the time of the year they come out of the woodwork. Scammers knocking door to door with promises of quality work for exceptionally low prices. The scams often include driveway repaving, chimney repairs, ductwork cleaning, and roofing scams. Toss a criminal handy man in there and you end up missing a jewelry box or wallet.

It doesn’t take much for a contractor to appear legitimate. A simple uniform, business card, truck lettering and a 4 color brochure will easily give the impression of legitimacy. And they may be legitimate, but that doesn’t mean you should just fork over a down payment.

Always do business with someone you know, like, and trust based on a referral. Consider well known brands that often vet out contractors/employees and have zero tolerance policies for shoddy work.

The Better Business Bureau is a great resource for consumers looking to deal with reputable companies. This is your best resource. Look them up on the local BBB website and search the internet to see if there are complaints

Get at least 3 bids to see who has the right price, and that may not be the cheapest either.

Confirm they are properly licensed and insured. In Boston, the Boston Herald reports “state Division of Professional Licensure said it conducted a sting in which it contacted electricians who advertised on Craigslist but did not include a license number, and asked them to come to a home to install a light fixture or socket. When the contractors arrived, officials say they were asked by state investigators posing as the homeowners to produce license information. Officials said some of the unlicensed electricians did not use their last names or demanded cash for payment.”

Get and check references.

Never provide a deposit of more than 25% and never give that deposit until the day they show to do the job.

Find out what kind of warranty they have and get it in writing.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing ADTPulse on Fox News.

Spyware A Major Identity Theft Threat

/in /by

Spyware is sold legally in the United States. This software records chats, emails, browsing history, usernames, passwords, and basically everything a person does on that PC. Some spyware programs can record everything in a video file, which can then be accessed remotely.

This is all perfectly legal as long as the PC’s owner installs the software. It is illegal to install spyware on a computer that is not your own.

Spyware can be great if, for example, you want to monitor your twelve-year-old daughter who obsessively chats online, or your employees whose lack of productivity has you wondering if they’re watching YouTube all day.

Spyware also comes in the form of a virus, which essentially does the same thing. When you click a malicious link or install a program that is infected with malicious software, several different types of spyware can be installed as well.

Spyware can also take the form of a keylogger or keycatcher, a USB device similar to a USB flash drive, which can connect to a PC and piggyback the keyboard connection. Keycatchers have a made a splash in schools, where students plug them into the back of teachers’ PCs, trying to get test information ahead of time.

In England, two keyloggers were found plugged into public library computers. This would have allowed whoever planted the USB devices to access a record of activity on the compromised computers. “It’s unclear who placed the snooping devices on the machines but the likely purpose was to capture banking login credentials on the devices prior to their retrieval and use in banking fraud.”

Keep in mind that anyone with special access to a computer, including friends, family, and employees, poses the main threat. A cleaning person or security guard could always be paid to install spyware in order to record sensitive data.

Check your USB ports to make sure there are no mysterious devices attached to your PC. Prevent unauthorized password installation by password protecting the administrator account on your PC.

Only download files from trusted websites, and avoid torrents and software cracks, which are often seeded with spyware.

Never click “Agree,” “OK,” “No,” or “Yes” in a popup. Instead, hit the red X or shut down your browser by hitting Ctrl-Alt-Delete.

Keep your operating system’s security patches updated, and be sure to install the latest, most secure version of your browser. And Run McAfee Total Protection, including spyware removal.

McAfee Identity Protection includes proactive identity surveillance to monitor subscribers’ credit and personal information and access to live fraud resolution agents who can help subscribers work through the process of resolving identity theft issues. For additional tips, please visit http://www.counteridentitytheft.com

Robert Siciliano is a McAfee Consultant and Identity Theft Expert. See him discussing spyware on Fox Boston (Disclosures)

Home Invader Claims Insanity Defense

/in /by

Certainly when someone hacks another person to death it is safe to say something is very wrong with them.

In criminal trials, Wikipedia defines “the insanity defenses are possible defenses by excuse, an affirmative defense by which defendants argue that they should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law because they were legally insane at the time of the commission of alleged crimes. A defendant attempting such a defense will often be required to undergo a mental examination beforehand. The legal definition of “insane” is, in this context, quite different from psychiatric definitions of “mentally ill”. When the insanity defense is successful, the defendant is usually committed to a psychiatric hospital.”

His defense was that he was insane at the time because of a rough childhood at the hands of an abusive mother. “We taught him the difference between right and wrong,” said Christopher Gribble’s mother. “I believe he knew it was wrong to kill.”

The home invasion goes back to 2009 where a gang of late teens and 20 something’s broke into a home while the mom and daughter were sleeping. The dad was away on business. In the course of events the mom died of a machete wound and the daughter was severely injured.

New Hampshire law makers are reexamining their death penalty law. The House is voting whether to make home invasions like this murder, a capital crime.

I say go for it. However it won’t be a deterrent. Criminals are criminals because the law has no consequence to them. Therefore you must protect yourself. At least lock your doors and invest in a home security system.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing ADTPulse™ on Fox News.

3 Year Old’s Identity Stolen To Buy Porn

/in /by

A thief hacked into a woman’s checking account and used her daughter’s name on an electronic check to pay for an online porn subscription. The FBI believes this is a relatively new scam, with reports coming in from across the country.

The little girl isn’t a signer on the account, but the bank cashed the check for $29.95 made out to a porn company in her name.

“Somebody took money from me, somebody took my account number, somebody used my daughter’s name for porn,” the mother says.

According to the Colorado Banker’s Association, “any company you send a check to has enough information to steal from you… Online bill pay isn’t any safer because criminals have been known to hack into computers.”

That’s a serious statement from a bank representative. I can’t help but wonder if it was translated correctly? She went on to note that many checks were being cashed for small amounts, which doesn’t send a red flag to banks.

Consumers often overlook these smaller transactions, or “microcharges,” which are fraudulent charges ranging from 20 cents to $10. The victims of this particular scam would see the fictional merchant’s name and toll-free number on their debit or credit card statements. If they called to dispute a charge, the phone numbers would be disconnected or go straight to voicemail. Many frustrated consumers don’t even bother to dispute the charges.

This scam can often be fixed by paying attention to your statements and refuting charges within a specified time frame. You have up to 60 days, at most, depending on the nature of the card. Check with your bank.

McAfee Identity Protection includes proactive identity surveillance to monitor subscribers’ credit and personal information and access to live fraud resolution agents who can help subscribers work through the process of resolving identity theft issues. For additional tips, please visit http://www.counteridentitytheft.com

Robert Siciliano is a McAfee Consultant and Identity Theft Expert. See him discussing child identity theft on NBC Boston (Disclosures)