The Internal Revenue Service has issued its annual “Dirty Dozen” ranking of tax scams, reminding taxpayers to use caution during tax season to protect themselves against a wide range of schemes ranging from identity theft to return preparer fraud. An IRS notice informing a taxpayer that more than one return was filed in the taxpayer’s name…
Back in 2010, The Wall Street Journal was already warning us about app developers’ lack of transparency with regard to their intentions. “An examination of 101 popular smartphone “apps”—games and other software applications for iPhone and Android phones—showed that 56 transmitted the phone’s unique device ID to other companies without users’ awareness or consent. Forty-seven apps transmitted…
The 2012 Identity Fraud Report: Social Media and Mobile Forming the New Fraud Frontier, released by Javelin Strategy & Research, reports that in 2011 identity fraud increased by 13 percent. More than 11.6 million adults became a victim of identity fraud in the United States, while the dollar amount stolen held steady. Approximately 1.4 million…
Computers are like humans in that in some ways they can tell you when they are sick or they don’t feel good. But computers are also like pets who may not be able to speak, but if you are paying attention, they begin to behave in ways that alert you to problems. There are numerous…
“Vishing” occurs when criminals cold-call victims and attempt to persuade them to divulge personal information over the phone. These scammers are generally after credit card numbers and personal identifying information, which can then be used to commit financial theft. Vishing can occur both on your landline phone or via your mobile phone. The term is…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provides the following list of warning signs that your identity may have been stolen: Accounts you didn’t open and debts on your accounts that you can’t explain Fraudulent or inaccurate information on your credit reports, including accounts and personal information, such as your Social Security Number, address, name or initials,…
Peer to peer file sharing is a great technology used to share data over peer networks. It’s also great software to get hacked. This is the same P2P software that allows users to download pirated music, movies and software. In my own P2P security research, I have uncovered tax returns, student loan applications, credit reports and…
A couple of weeks ago, the RSA Security conference took place in San Francisco, CA. The increasing sophistication of hackers and visibility of data breaches (including one on the conference’s namesake company last year) makes this an exciting time to be in the security business.. While this show is for corporate IT and security professionals,…
You’ve seen barcodes all your life. So you know what they look like: rectangles “boxes” comprised of a series of vertical lines. When a cashier scans a barcode, you hear a familiar beep and you are charged for that item. A QR code looks different and offers more functionality. QR stands for “quick response.” Smartphones…
The Internal Revenue Service issued its annual “Dirty Dozen” ranking of tax scams, reminding taxpayers to use caution during tax season to protect themselves against a wide range of that aren’t necessarily always perpetrated by an outsider trying to scam the business or individual, but sometimes these are inside jobs that put the company in…
