Mailroom Error, Big Data Breach

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Data breaches need not be launched maliciously in order to be very troublesome, as was the case involving about 3,700 Medicare Advantage members. Freedom Blue and Security Blue members received risk assessment results that actually belonged to other individuals. The addresses, birthdates, member ID numbers and medical information of some members ended up in the hands of other members.

1DAnd how? An innocent mistake committed by a mailroom employee. Though there was no evidence of malicious use of this personal information, it just goes to show you how easily a person’s private information can end up in a stranger’s hands. Imagine receiving a stranger’s medical information in your mailbox. It would make you think twice about trusting the company with your personal information in the future.

Members were notified of this error after the insurer spent a month exploring how it happened. Though the unintended recipients received information about other members’ scores on mood tests, medications and results of frailty tests, at least the Social Security numbers weren’t revealed.

If a breach affects more than 500 people, law requires that the health industry alert the Health and Human Services Department, which will then launch an investigation. The affected consumers, and local news outlets, are also required to be notified.

Highmark Inc., the health insurance company whose members were affected by the mailroom breach, changed the member ID numbers of the affected members or those who might have been affected. Sixty-three members received forms pertaining to other people, and 233 never received a mailing, suggesting that their forms possibly went to other members.

As for the bumbling employee, that person was fired. The other employees are being retrained, and Highmark will implement a bar code system on all mailings, which is one proper way to track breach notification letter mailings to ensure the right pieces of mail end up in the right hands and avoid over-stuffing or mis-stuffing of envelopes..

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to AllClearID. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video. Disclosures.

 

Prepaid Cards risk of Fraud

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Somewhere out there is a dictionary that when you look up the term wire money, the definition says scam! Even though legitimate money-transfer businesses exist like Western Union, a request to wire money for that new car or vacation package is most probably a rip-off.

2CAnd the crooks behind these rackets are figuring out ways to overcome the increased awareness of consumers to the money-wiring scams. They’ve come up with yet another way to steal your money. Thieves are requesting reloadable prepaid cards.

Would you hand a well-fed-looking masked man on the street your wallet? (Let’s pretend for a moment he’s not pointing a gun at you and is simply asking for your money). Of course you wouldn’t give it to him.

But this is what people essentially do when wiring money or sending in the prepaid cards.

Here’s how it works: The thief makes a request to load your cash onto your card (to pay for whatever), and then send over the card number and PIN. This way, the crook can put your money onto their own cards. They then can go to an ATM and take out cash or spend your money at a store. Meanwhile you never receive the item you thought you were purchasing, like that adorable pedigree puppy you saw online.

But the scams don’t stop at buying puppies, vacation packages, cars or other common items. They can also come in the form of a notice that you won a prize, and that you need to send in a prepaid card to pay a processing fee. Sometimes the scam comes in the form of a utility company payment or even government payment.

Bottom line: Don’t send anyone prepaid cards!

In that same dictionary after the term prepaid cards is scam!

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247. Disclosures.

Victim kills Burglar, Accomplice charged with Murder

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A few bungling burglars will be paying lots of time for their crime: one in prison and one six feet under.

1GThe surviving robber has been charged with the death of his alleged accomplice, even though the accomplice was shot dead by the owner of the home that they were apparently intending to rob.

It all began in St. Louis’s Bevo Mill neighborhood when a 17-year-old girl was outside to retrieve something from her car. Two gunmen ordered her back into her house. It didn’t occur to them that inside might be two bears: a papa bear and mama bear, ready to grab their guns and fire.

The girl’s father fetched his gun and fired several rounds, hitting 31-year-old Terrell Johnson, killing him at the scene. The other man, Cortez McClinton, 33, got away with wounds to his chest and upper legs, but was taken to a hospital by his brother.

McClinton has been charged with second-degree murder for Johnson’s death. That’s because if a suspect dies while a felony is being committed, the accomplice can be charged with murder: felony murder, it’s called. Of course, McClinton has been charged also with first-degree burglary, plus kidnapping and armed criminal action.

The homeowner and his daughter were not harmed. The girl’s mother had also taken some shots at the gunmen, but missed. The parents are not being charged.

Much of this can be avoided by being proactive and investing in home security.

  • Hide valuables such as jewelry, preferably in a safe.
  • Lock all entries to your home even if you’re away for only a few minutes.
  • Leaving an outside light on constantly, tells burglars you may not be home. Use an automatic timer instead.
  • Get a home security system.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Healthcare High on Hackers’ Hitlist

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If you think that retailers are the biggest target for cyber criminals, you have it more than a wee bit wrong. Hackers are really going after the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. In fact, “Will Healthcare Be the Next Retail?” is the name of a recent report released by BitSight Technologies, a security ratings firm.

4DThe report claims that not all victims of healthcare hacking report breaches, so figuring out the total number of these attacks is difficult. However, the Ponemon Institute released a report stating that hacking into healthcare and insurance companies has jumped 100 percent since 2010.

Why such a jump? It could be due to the fact that healthcare-type enterprises have gotten onto the BYOD (bring your own device) bandwagon. This is almost analogous to an employee infected with a stomach virus coming into the building and spreading the sickness.

Another dynamic: as more doctors use technology to stay connected to their patients, it won’t be surprising to see breaches become more common in the healthcare sector.

What distinguishes healthcare-industry hacking from retail hacking is that the retail hacker simply wants a credit card number. But the crook who cracks into medical records—that’s your patients’ individual profile chockfull of personal medical information.

Healthcare hackers may want to steal your patients’ identities to commit insurance fraud, so your records should be diligently monitored.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to AllClearID. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video. Disclosures.

Beware of the Lottery Scam

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“You have won!” Yippeeee! NOT! Let’s see if you’re in that percentage of the population who will fall for this lottery scam. The alert can be an e-mail, snail mail or phone call, claiming you won a bundle of money. But keep this alert a secret due to some “mix-up in names” and you must contact a “claims agent.” You then must pay “processing charges” or “transfer fees.” You then wait. And wait. And wait.

9DThere’s one born every minute. Many scammers use the names of valid lottery organizations, but this doesn’t mean the legit entities are involved.

The latest con is to tell someone they won a Powerball jackpot while planning on stealing their identity. This happened to Jim Shella, a newsman from Indianapolis. From a random number he received several texts mentioning his name and saying he won.

Deputy Attorney General Terry Tolliver knew this was a scam. A text requested Shella’s Facebook screen name for confirmation. The requests for personal information, in these scams, will escalate. Shella texted back asking for identification. The answer: “This is Agent Paul, the delivery consultant for Powerball.” When Shella said he had no winning ticket, Agent Paul said that none were necessary to collect the $26,500.

Shella said he was a reporter and asked Agent Paul if he wanted to be in a story. Agent Paul asked if Shella wanted his winnings. Tolliver warns that these scammers will attempt to suck enough information out of you to steal your identity. Though Shella was playing head games with the crook, it’s best to delete the first text message you get like this and never respond.

How to recognize a lottery scam

  • You can’t win without a ticket. Period. So if someone claims you won, and you didn’t buy a ticket, it’s a scam.
  • You must pay a fee. Legitimate operations subtract fees and taxes from the winnings rather than demand you pay an amount in order to collect the prize.
  • Scams almost always originate from free e-mail accounts like Yahoo, Hotmail and Gmail.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247. Disclosures.

Back to School Time Means Online Safety Time

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It’s August which for parents (and kids) means it is back to school time. It can be easy to reminisce about your school days—passing notes to the cute girl or boy in class, late-night study sessions with friends, or playing tag on the playground.

4HBut your kids’ school experience is way different from when you were in school. Snapchat, Facebook, and text messaging have replaced those folded handwritten notes. Educational apps have replaced flash cards. A lot of your kids have their own smartphone or are probably asking for them.

Your kids are growing up as digital natives, with technology playing a part in almost every aspect of their lives. In a study conducted earlier this year, McAfee found that 54% of teens and tweens spend more than 10 hours online per week and over 60% use either Snapchat, YouTube or Instagram on a daily basis.

And while our kids may be digitally savvy, McAfee found that while 90% of tweens and teens believe their parents trust them to do what is right online, almost half (45%) would change their online behavior if they knew their parents were watching.  So it’s critical that we stay one step ahead of our kids.

With all this technology available, there comes new responsibilities for us as parents. It’s important that we take the time to teach our children how to safely navigate the digital world. Here’s some ways to protect your kids online:

  • Turn off GPS services. Encourage your child to disable this option to keep their location invisible to strangers.
  • Enable privacy settings. This is something we should all do and the McAfee study found that over 1/3 of youth did not use these on their social networking profiles.
  • Discuss the reality of cyberbullying. In the McAfee study, 87% of kids have witnessed cyberbullying and 24% said they would not know what to do if they were cyberbullied.
  • Teach them what is appropriate to share. 50% of tweens and teens share their email address, while 30% post their phone number and a whopping 14% posted their home address.

To help keep our kids safe online, McAfee and HP have teamed together to promote online safety during the Back to School season —and give you a chance to win prizes. To learn more, go to www.BTStips.com to enter to win!

For more tips, like McAfee on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.

Cheers to a safe, fun school year!

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!  Disclosures.

Beware of 5 Summertime Scams

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The Better Business Bureau says beware of big summertime scams: five in particular.

9D“Wow, it’s a steal!” No, that’s not necessarily from the customer; it’s from the crook who entices the consumer with an irresistible deal involving airfare and room and board. If you see a deal that seems too good to be true, do an online search of the associated phone number and address, whatever it takes to confirm legitimacy.

Seasonal jobs. Con artists like to target high school and college students especially. Be careful about job ads stating that no experience is needed, though these can be legit. However, be extra cautious if the company requires you to pay for training or to pay for a background check.

Concert tickets. Con artists will attempt to resell the same ticket over and over, as the ticket can be printed out when a concert venue sells it directly from their website. Be suspicious of someone giving you a sob story for why they must sell their ticket. Be leery of those who will take only a cash payment.

Movers. Planning on moving this summer? Beware of whom you hire, and take a second look at a price that seems like an outrageously good deal. A cost that’s quoted online or over the phone isn’t always carved out in stone. Don’t just hire without first checking them out, even if they were recommended by friends or a service person you recently hired and were pleased with.

Door to door sales. Don’t be swayed by someone at your door. Get everything in writing before you hire someone, be it for landscaping or a security system. Never sign a contract that lacks a start and finish date.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247. Disclosures.

The Role of Antivirus Software

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https://safr.me/webinar/  | Robert Siciliano is the #1 Security Expert in the United States with over 25 years of experience! He is here to help you become more aware of the risks and strategies to help protect yourself, your family, your business, and your entire life. Robert brings identity theft, personal security, fraud prevention and cyber security to light so that criminals can no longer hide in the dark. You need to be smarter than criminals yesterday so that they don’t take advantage of you today! If you would like to learn more about Security Awareness, then sign up for Robert’s latest webinar!

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The purpose of antivirus (AV) software is to detect, neutralize or eradicate malware (malicious software).

6DAV software not only will identify and destroy the computer virus, but it’s also designed to fight off other kinds of threats such as phishing attacks, worms, Trojan horses, rootkits and more.

How does AV software work?

  • It will first scan (either on automatic timer that the user selects or manual) the computer’s files to seek out any viruses that fit the description that’s in a virus dictionary.
  • Using a method called heuristic analysis, it will also try to detect suspicious activity from any program that might seem to be infected.

Antivirus programs come in different flavors, but the common denominator is that they seek out viruses and other malware, and neutralize them.

The computer’s hard drive and external drives are also included in the scanning process.

What’s really important is that you make sure that your AV software is set for automatic updates—and on a daily basis at that—so that any new viruses or malware can be quickly pounced upon and rendered disabled.

Cybercrimes are more prevalent than ever, says the McAfee Threat Report. Check out some findings:

  • Fairly recently (first quarter of 2013) was a time that was the most active, ever, for the entire gamut of malicious software generation.
  • More than 14 million new samples were identified by McAfee.
  • Malware is evolving, becoming savvier. An example is the Zeus malware that gets spread when the user unintentionally downloads it (from being tricked into doing so), or, when the user opens an attachment in an e-mail, not knowing it’s poised to infect his computer. This malware is smart because it evades anti-spam software by presenting as graphics instead of text in the e-mails.
  • Every month means about six million new botnet infections.
  • Between the first and second halves of 2013, new phishing websites doubled in number.
  • Sixty percent of the leading Google search terms returned malicious sites just in the first 100 search results alone.

The key is simply to have antivirus installed, let it run its updates automatically and pay for the annual license. As long as you have it, it will prevent most infections.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to TheBestCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247. Disclosures.

Smart Home Security Tips

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It’s well-worth your time and money to make a burglar’s job very difficult. Employ the following home security tips:

5HLock up! How many times have you read about a home intruder who “entered through an unlocked window”? Keep your windows and doors locked as much as possible.

Deadbolts. A deadbolt makes an incredible difference. Even a “determined” thief wants a quick, easy job. A decent deadbolt is about $25; you’ll get what you pay for. Lock it when you’re at home, too.

Home security. You can even do this yourself. A cheap system will sound an alarm that no burglar will want to stick around for. You can install a basic system including a keypad and door sensors for $25 online. Add on features like wireless keyfobs, motion detectors, etc. However, if the money is there, invest in a monitored system. The monthly fee is cheaper than you think.

Use curtains/blinds. A potential burglar won’t be interested in your home if he can’t see in. When you’re gone during the day, close the curtains/blinds unless your plants need the light to survive. If you’re home and want to admire the view, at least close the curtains on windows through which you’re not admiring any view. Never leave them open once dusk hits.

Shrubbery. If you absolutely must have shrubs near entry points to your home, then make sure they’re thorny so that a burglar doesn’t hide in them. If what’s already there isn’t thorny, have it trimmed down so that a burglar can’t hide there.

Sliding door security. Place a wooden rod in the door track frame.

Be safe. With a safe, that is. A fireproof safe is less than $40. Until you get a safe, put your jewelry in a place a burglar would never look: like a covered Styrofoam cup next to the mouthwash bottle.

Don’t forget the garage. Keep the garage door closed at all times, even if you have an in-and-out lifestyle. You can buy a garage door timer for under $40 that automatically shuts the door after a predetermined time period. But if you want to keep it open, the device has a manual override.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

6 Survival Tips for Being Lost in the Woods

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Some may remember the James Kim case out of Oregon in December 2006. Kim inadvertently chose an old logging road while driving home, getting lost in the woods. He left his wife and two young kids in the vehicle while he sought help, promising to return by early afternoon. He never did and his body was found in a creek. Based on snow tracks it was determined he walked practically in the same loop over and over for 16 miles. Awful.

1MHere are no-nonsense, easy tips for surviving mentally and physically if you ever become lost.

  1. Once you realize you’re lost, assess for injuries or situations that interfere with life sustenance. This assessment is ongoing because it includes avoiding doing anything that could interfere with breathing, blood flow, consciousness, you know, life.
  1. Next is think and observe. Where are you? What landmarks did you spot prior? How did you get here? Assess the environment: Hot? Cold soon? Darkness soon?
  1. Get logical, not emotional. Admit you’re truly lost. If you have an idea from where you came, backtrack mentally for clues, e.g., if you see wet mud on the trail where you think you came, check if your shoes are muddy. Think before you wander.
  1. Inspect your inventory. Maybe you have something that could help like a sharp tool, whistle, cellphone. And, how much water do you have? Sip in small amounts when thirsty, and limit exertion.
  1. It’s time to plan. Once you decide to find your way back, leave trail markers. But don’t budge unless you’re 100 percent sure you know the way out. It’s safer to stay put in your lost spot and wait for rescue than do what James Kim did (rescuers eventually found his vehicle and his unharmed family).
  1. What about food? Don’t panic (cavemen certainly didn’t; long fasts were a way of life). The body can go up to three weeks without food (but only two or three days without water; less in scorching heat).

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.