Beware of Flight MH17 Facebook Scams

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How low can scammers go? The latest is phony Facebook profiles that use identities of deceased victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17—claiming their credit cards were stolen from the crash debris.

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photos-identity-theft-red-words-binary-code-computer-monitor-image39907813“Death hunters,” says Ukrainian MP Anton Gerashchenko on his Facebook page, are collecting jewels, cash and credit cards off of the victims. His post urges victims’ relatives to “freeze their credit cards, so that they won’t lose their assets to terrorists!”

The Dutch Banking Association assured next-of-kin that they’d be compensated for the fallout of credit card theft.

Journalist Phil Williams was at the crash site and pointed out that it was obvious that wallets and handbags had been stolen. Just about all the handbags had been opened, he reports. Looting is apparent, he says.

Mark Rutte, the Dutch Prime Minister, used the term “utterly disgusting” to describe how the rebels had treated the corpses.

But beyond the site is even more alarming activity: fake Facebook accounts. At least five phony FB accounts have been set up in the names of deceased Australians—including three kids. Facebook has since shut down the pages.

The pages provided a link to a video claiming to reveal footage of the airliner’s crash. However, users instead were directed to a website full of pop-up ads for fishy-looking services. The lure to this site was a malicious link tagline: “Video Camera Caught the moment plane MH17 Crashed over Ukraine. Watch here the video of Crash.”

You can imagine how many people—not necessarily next-of-kin, took the bait and made the click. Though these particular fraudulent pages were closed down, this doesn’t mean more won’t appear.

Is this common after a disaster?

It seems to be more common, as criminals are capitalizing on current events to perpetrate scams generally within a 24-48 hour period.

Tips for spotting these scams for consumers in general:

Thinking before you click, doing research and not being so impulsive will keep consumers from being baited by scammy links, titles and stories.

Tips for family members of the deceased:

They should cancel credit cards, create fraud alerts through their country’s credit bureaus, and once death certificates are obtained they need to submit them to the credit bureaus. Otherwise set up Google alerts with the decedents’’ names to monitor any chatter on social sites that may turn up their likeness in a stolen social media identity theft case.

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

Real Estate Agent a Professional Burglar

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Does the profession of real estate sales turn someone into a burglar, or, does a burglar one day realize, “Hey, I can make off like a bandit if I sell homes!”?

3HRay Glen Greene, 49, was a real estate agent in Cobb County, Georgia, who’d use his agent keycode to get into houses and steal valuables. He was sentenced to 20 years.

His sob story was that he hadn’t sold any homes in a year and pawned stolen jewelry to support himself. He even apologized to the victims who showed up at his trial.

If that’s not entertaining enough, there’s the case where a real estate agent, 60-year-old Stephen Brumme, stole women’s clothes from a house for sale, prior to a showing, while the occupants were out of town. The crime was caught on video. Police believe that such crimes occur more often than people realize.

How can you prevent crimes like these?

  • Install a video surveillance system. Though fake cameras are effective deterrents to break-ins once they’re spotted by the would-be thief, should a brazen thief bust in anyways, a fake camera won’t catch anything. A real camera at least will catch the crime on tape, which you’ll need for evidence.
  • Security cameras can also set off sounds and lighting, plus also alert the homeowner with a text message or phone call.
  • Technology (such as Dropcam) is available that allows you to view just what’s happening inside and outside your house, and in real time.
  • The investment in a surveillance system will go beyond protection and evidence. It will add value to your home. Some insurance plans even give discounts if your home has a good security system.

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

Using Technology to Secure Your Home when Traveling

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Whom better than a burglar knows what a great way to find a victim is? Edith Cowan University in Australia interviewed 69 burglars. One of their favorite methods of finding a target is to search social media for vacation updates.

3BYou can extrapolate that it wouldn’t be a bright idea to reveal travel plans on your voicemail. Only close family and friends should know; this excludes casual neighbors. Here are more tips:

Don’t buy the biggest house on the block. The biggest, fanciest house on the block really gets a burglar’s attention. Skip it when home shopping.

Home security systems

The vast majority of burglars will not bother with a home that has an alarm. Put the alarm company’s stickers on your windows and their sign in your yard.

Home automation

Use services like Total Connect by Honeywell to control your home from wherever you are. Get video updates of any activity on your front door or cars. You can unlock and disarm your system all from your phone.

Hide valuables

Use a safe for pricey items. Put jewelry in a plastic bag from Walmart, then put it on your vanity. What thief will look inside, thinking it’s new hairspray or a pack of bobby pins?

Close your curtains

It’s a myth that closed curtains in broad daylight are an invitation to burglars. Thieves don’t just break into any home. They want to make sure their efforts are worth it. How can they know this if they can’t see into your house?

But if you want the curtains/shades open for light to come in or to expose a nice view, at least close them when it begins getting dusky. A burglar cases possible targets by looking inside, and it’s very easy for them to see through a bare window at night when your lights are on. Not only can they see what’s worth breaking in for, but they’ll be able to see if the residents can be easily overpowered.

Looks are everything

Accumulations of mail and newspapers will get a burglar’s attention. So will unmowed lawns and a perpetually barren driveway. Put a delivery stop on mail and newspapers, and ask neighbors to park their cars in your lot. Use automatic timers for indoors that set off lights and TVs. Mute the ringer volume on your phone.

Lock your front door!

A 2008 State Farm Insurance study revealed that under 50 percent of 1,000 respondents locked their front doors. It takes the average thief 60 seconds to break in, but only a few seconds for you to lock each portal to your home. Burglars don’t like hard work. Add extra security with a deadbolt.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics, interestingly, says that 40 percent of home burgles are not forced entries. Burglars are literally waltzing right into homes via an unlocked door or window. Lock up, even when you’re home, even during the day. Many burglaries occur during the day.

Keep the garage door closed

Even when you’re home. Install a device that will automatically close the garage door after a specific amount of time open. Prior to traveling, disable the door’s opener or lock the door if it rolls up.

Trash

Don’t leave the boxes that expensive items came in, visible on your curb for trash pickup. Disassemble as much as possible and conceal.

Don’t aid burglars

Keep plant growth away from entry points so that burglars can’t conceal themselves when they’re trying to break in. If you absolutely must have shrubbery near entry points due to aesthetic appeal, then choose thorny plants to repel a thief.

Know your neighbors

Not many burglars will get past a Mrs. Kravitz-type neighbor. A stranger will stand out to neighbors who know each other. Get a Neighborhood Watch program going.

Get a dog

A dog’s incessant barking will drive many burglars away.

Robert Siciliano is a personal security expert to SecurityOptions.com discussing home security and identity theft on TBS Movie and a Makeover. Disclosures.

The Right to Privacy

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The more technological advanced we become, the higher the degree the potential exists for an invasion of our privacy. Imagine how difficult it must have been for people’s personal information to get stolen—10,000 years ago.

2PWe now live in a world where someone half-way around it from you can nab your most personal information in seconds.

Our right to privacy is just as strong now as it ever was, despite the ease at which criminals and snoops can get your personal data.

Famed attorney and associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court Louis Brandeis was a champion of a person’s right to privacy, and defined the right of a person “to be let alone” as “the most comprehensive of rights, and the right most valued by civilized men.”

To keep up with the increasing ease of stealing a person’s data, legal remedies and privacy enabling software have been developed.

The Internet is infested with spammers, scammers, and hackers. Do you know that these spammers and hackers can easily monitor your online activities and steal your personal data like credit card information and passwords?

Even your Internet Service Provider (ISP) spies on you! They monitor, track, and keep a record of all your web activities. The websites you visit, the software you download, your online purchases, and everything else are recorded and saved by your ISP.

If this bothers you, you now have options available to protect your privacy and identity. Just download and use Hotspot Shield software. It acts as an IP hider to mask or change your IP address and protect your privacy, while securing your Web browsing session at the same time.

“THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY,” by Samuel D. Warren and Louis D. Brandeis, appeared in the Harvard Law Review in December of 1890.

From that are derived six applicable limitations:

1. “The right to privacy does not prohibit any publication of matter which is of public or general interest.” Warren and Brandeis give elaboration on this exception to the right to privacy by stating:

In general, then, the matters of which the publication should be repressed may be described as those which concern the private life, habits, acts, and relations of an individual, and have no legitimate connection with his fitness for a public office which he seeks or for which he is suggested, . . . and have no legitimate relation to or bearing upon any act done by him in a public or quasi public capacity.

2. The right to privacy does not prohibit the communication of any matter, though in its nature private, when the publication is made under circumstances which would render it a privileged communication according to the law of slander and libel.

3. The law would probably not grant any redress for the invasion of privacy by oral publication in the absence of special damage.

4. The right to privacy ceases upon the publication of the facts by the individual, or with his consent.

5. The truth of the matter published does not afford a defense. Obviously this branch of the law should have no concern with the truth or falsehood or the matters published.

6. The absence of “malice” in the publisher does not afford a defense.

With regard to remedies, a plaintiff may institute an action for tort damages as compensation for injury or, alternatively, request an injunction.

A closing point to make is that Warren and Brandeis recommend that criminal penalties be imposed for violations of the right to privacy, but they decline to elaborate further on the matter, deferring rather to the authority of the legislature.

Source: http://faculty.uml.edu/sgallagher/Brandeisprivacy.htm

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him discussing internet and wireless security on Good Morning America. Disclosures.

How to Prevent Summertime Scams

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Summertime is here…and that means sunshine and vacations. Most people love summertime, including scammers! Hackers can use this time to take advantage while we are planning vacations or on vacation or just enjoying fun in the sun. Here are some key scams to watch out for this summer:9D

  • Family or Friend Requests Money
    You receive an email from a friend or family member. They tell you a sob story and say they need money. It sure seems like the right person. You even ask them for more details and they give them spot-on. Convinced they’re the real McCoy, you wire them money. But what you just did was wire money to an imposter who got all those personal details off social media. One way to prevent this it to establish a secret code that your friends and family promises not to post on social media (and the code should be a nonsensical sentence or something that isn’t easily guessed). If a person can’t type out this secret code, then you know it’s a scam. Another way to avoid this scam is to always speak live to the person asking for the money.
  • Home Improvement
    Summer is when homeowners are most gullible to people offering home repairs. In many of these cases, repairmen do only superficial repairs to make something look nicer or others take your deposit money and then disappear into thin air. To avoid this, make sure you check references and be leery of anyone appearing out of the blue offering home improvement services or those who are not insured.
  • Moving Scams
    As summer is a time when many people move homes, it’s also a time ripe for moving scams. You could experience something like the moving company suddenly charging you more if you want your belongings unloaded from the truck. To avoid moving scams, be careful when you choose a moving company, check references and make sure you use an accredited moving firm.
  • Vacation Rental Scams
    Vacations are something you want to enjoy and getting a great deal makes it even better. But not if it’s a sham. Scammers offer deals on vacation rentals and then you arrive to find that the keys don’t work or worse—the rental is an empty lot. Before you pay for a vacation rental, make sure that the rental address exists by using Google Earth search. And just like other things, get references and only rent from trusted sites like TripAdvisor.
  • Online Employment Ads
    If you’re job searching, you need to be aware. This scam is usually found on free job listing sites, but can be found in emails too. The red flag is when they want YOU to pay THEM (never mind how legitimate it sounds) or they ask you for a ton of personal information like your driver’s license or birthdate. Just don’t give out your information. Stick to well-known job sites when hunting online.

Summer is a time that we should all enjoy—both online and offline. Make sure you educate yourself on the latest scams and be wary of things that seem too good to be true. Remember, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Stay safe this summer!

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.

Myth: My gated Community is Secure

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How many times have you heard someone say, “I don’t have to worry about crime; I live in a gated community”? Yeah, the electronically-locked gate may stop criminals from driving in, but not from walking in!

5HThat stylish gate is more of an ornament than a crime deterrent. It may very well be a lure to thieves, since it suggests that there’s a lot of valuables in those houses. The gate may even suggest complacence with tougher security measures among the homeowners.

The big iron gate may even encourage residents to leave entries to their houses unlocked or windows to their child’s first floor bedroom open overnight. Any reason a pedophile can’t slip through the gate while it opens for a resident? And that assumes the perp isn’t bright enough to just walk into the premises.

The giant gate may as well have a neon sign overhead that says, “Welcome! We Have Lots of Valuables in Our Homes!”

Might a burglar assume that every home has an alarm system? No. He’ll avoid those that have signs of an alarm system, but he’ll continue poking around till he finds evidence of an unlocked house. An alarm system is worthless if it’s turned off and a door is unlocked. This risk-reward calculation is too juicy for a thief to pass up.

And here’s another formula to consider:

Gated community = more money = more empty homes while residents are on yet another vacation.

Still think that gate protects your community? How often have you forgotten your code or the keypad malfunctioned, and you waited for the next resident to open the gates, and you slipped in right after them? How easy was that?

How often has the gate mechanically been broken and you zipped right on through? Even a gateman who buzzes people in may not be on the ball. And even if he is, you should assume that many service technicians are given entry codes. It’s not an issue of how or if a thief can get in, but who.

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

Phishing Alert: 8 Tips to protect yourself from Attacks

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It’s as easy for hackers to phish out your personal data as it is to sit in a canoe on a still pond, cast the bait and wait for the fish to bite.

13DSo many people fail to learn about phishing scams, a favorite and extremely prevalent scam among cybercriminals.

A type of phishing scam is to lure the user onto a malicious website. ZeuS (Zbot) is such an example, planted on websites; visit that site and it will download a virus to your device that will steal your online banking information, then forward it to a remote server, where the thief will obtain it. Very clever.

But that ingenuity is contingent on someone being gullible enough to open a phishing e-mail, and then taking that gullibility one step further by clicking on the link to the malicious site.

10 Phishing Alerts

  • An unfamiliar e-mail or sender. If it’s earth-shaking news, you’ll probably be notified in person or via a voice phone call.
  • An e-mail that requests personal information, particularly financial. If the message contains the name and logo of the business’s bank, phone the bank and inquire about the e-mail.
  • An e-mail requesting credit card information, a password, username, etc.
  • A subject line that’s of an urgent nature, particularly if it concludes with an exclamation point.

Additional Tips

  • Keep the computer browser up-to-date.
  • If a form inside an e-mail requests personal information, enter “delete” to chuck the e-mail.
  • The most up-to-date versions of Chrome, IE and Firefox offer optional anti-phishing protection.
  • Check out special toolbars that can be installed in a web browser to help guard the user from malicious sites; this toolbar provides fast alerts when it detects a fraudulent site.

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.

Kiddie Burglary Ring busted with 10-year-olds

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Kids can be so cruel—at least when they kick in the doors of homes and rob people. At least three thieves were arrested for suspected involvement in a series of Southeast Austin burglaries.

3BOne is 18-year-old Erik Rene Marciel. Another of the juveniles is linked to up to 11 burglaries. The third robber is 10 years old, possibly related to an older suspect (a very logical deduction).

On Easter Sunday, Linda Narro’s door was kicked down by the home invaders who absconded with thousands of dollars’ worth of belongings.

More thieves in this string of crimes are believed to be out there, as police continue hunting them down. A child burglar gets probation as punishment. Hmmph. A convicted adult can get up to 10 years in prison.

It’s too easy to blame lack of supervision on 10-year-old robbers. Lack of supervision usually amounts to playing kickball in the street at midnight, not invading peoples’ homes and stealing.

Robbery Prevention

  • Hide valuables such as jewelry, preferably in a safe.
  • Inform the police of your travel plans.
  • Announce your vacation on social media—after you get back.
  • Lock all entries to your home even if you’re away for only a few minutes.
  • While you’re away on travel, arrange to have a trusted person park their car in your driveway.
  • Leaving an outside light on constantly, tells burglars you may not be home. Use an automatic timer instead.
  • If you’re away for lengthy periods, arrange for someone to mow your lawn.
  • Nobody should see you packing your car for a trip. Do so inside your garage with the door closed, or late at night in the dark.
  • Put a vacation hold on newspapers and mail.
  • Make sure your voicemail box has enough room so that it doesn’t become “full” when you’re away.

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

Everything you need to know about a Credit Freeze

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A credit freeze locks down your credit report so lenders can’t see your scores, making your credit/SSN useless to them because they don’t know their risk level.

1SIf thieves get ahold of your ID, they can’t get credit in your name as long as your credit is frozen. Freezing your credit will seal your credit reports. You’ll need a PIN to access your credit to allow valid services to check your credit when needed. Freezing won’t affect existing credit lines and are free to victims of ID theft. Since 2008, the three big credit bureaus have allowed non-victims to freeze their credit for a small charge.

When is a credit freeze a good idea?

For anyone 18 and over who has a credit report and those under 18 whose identity is stolen and for whom a report is then generated by default.

What should I consider before ordering a credit freeze?

Nothing. Just do it. Credit should be frozen across the board, but banks/retailers/lenders have spent millions lobbying to prevent that, as it would eliminate instant credit, and these institutions say that it would “gum up” the system of lending.

What are the costs?

Free to $15.00 per credit bureau for life, depending on the deal your state attorney general made with the bureau back in 2008. Then free to $5.00 to thaw it each time you apply for new lines of credit.

Inconvenience: It requires planning large financial decisions and being responsible. So horrible. Otherwise it takes five minutes per bureau to temporarily thaw your credit prior to financing a new line of credit at an auto dealer, mobile phone provider, etc.

Can a credit freeze hurt your credit score?

NO.

How does a credit freeze differ from a fraud alert?

Fraud alerts are only 90 days, and they don’t freeze your credit; they only alert a lender that you may have had your identity stolen, but don’t stop the lender from issuing credit in any way.

Fraud alerts at best are “notifications” that something may have gone wrong with your identity, but only suggest the lender takes additional steps to contact you before establishing credit in your name. It’s a false sense of security.

Where to Freeze:

Equifax

https://www.freeze.equifax.com/Freeze/jsp/SFF_PersonalIDInfo.jsp

Experian

https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html

Transunion

http://www.transunion.com/personal-credit/credit-disputes/credit-freezes.page

Just do it. NOW.

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.

Being in Sync means your Data is safe

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What is data synchronization? This technology synchronizes data between two or more computers and/or the cloud and automatically copies changes that are transacted between devices.

GSFile synchronization is used for home or small business backups when the user copies files to a flash drive or external hard drive. The synching prevents creating duplicate files.

For superior synching, take a look at GoodSync with its 30-day free trial. After which, for $30 (or use 33% of discount code “SICI1”), you can continue using its battleship of features. GoodSync provides remote service and also synchs with many online services.

Now let me tell you how well GoodSync works for me. Like most, my operating system resides on my C Drive. I keep my C Drive clear and free of all data so all it has to do is operate my system and contain updates, drivers and security patches. My D Drive is the DVD/CD Rom drive and My E: drive has all my data, taking up over 75 percent of the three-terabyte internal drive. My primary data is on Drive E, and this is backed up by a cloud service and then synched to my external three-terabyte F: drive.

Now, every two hours, GoodSync automatically synchs my external F: and internal E: drives. Even though all my data is in a cloud, what if my internal drive crashes? Downloading everything would be a pain. That’s where GoodSync comes in. Plus, though the cloud has its virtues, assessing data from it on a daily basis is surely not one of them.

You’ll be pleased with GoodSync’s efficient main window. Some of GoodSync’s offerings include file filtering, bidirectional/unidirectional synching, synching of deletions, and job scheduling.

Version 9 can include numerous sources and single files in one job. If you create files on your mobile, GoodSync will automatically download them. It supports SkyDive, Windows Azure, Google Docs, Amazon Cloud Drive and Amazon S3.

Don’t let the lack of flamboyant design fool you; GoodSync is as good as they come, and for tech savvy users, is a breeze. In particular, not-so-tech-savvy users will be quite impressed with the many options but will need more time to catch on. Read more about that here.

GoodSync stands out from other synching programs because it displays files from both destination and source on the right side of its main window, while the status shows on the left side. It’s best to use a dedicated destination folder for your synch.

As for connecting to online services, GoodSync supports SFTP, FTP and Webdav.

Another point is that for every PC that you wish to remotely synch, you will need a license.

There really isn’t any reason why you shouldn’t download GoodSync and take advantage of its 30-day free trial.

You have nothing to lose (literally!) with GoodSync. Get going on it.

Robert Siciliano is a digital life expert to GoodSync discussing identity theft prevention on Youtube. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247. Disclosures.