Entries by Robert Siciliano

Organized Crime Drives Increasing Auto Insurance Costs

All over the world, insurance fraud equates to a multi-billion dollar issue. The Guardian reports that in the United Kingdom, “insurance fraud [has] been on the rise since the recession began. Figures to be published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) are expected to show that these are still on the rise. As it is, the ABI…

Spotlight on RSA: Latest Security Threats

2012’s RSA Conference kicks off February 27th. Executive Chairman, RSA, Security Division of EMC Arthur Coviello, Jr. will present a program focused on the fact that in the past 18 months, organizations throughout the world have been under attack by nation-states, “hacktivists,” and cyber criminals. PBS NewsHour Senior Correspondent Jeffrey Brown will address “hacktivism”—the use…

Prevent Someone From Slipping You a Micky

Some call it a Mickey or a roofie but technically they are known as Rohypnoll, Ketamine or GHB. These are drugsdesigned in specific quantities that when taken can cause temporary loss of memory and in some cases cause a person to black out. Most often the drugs are in pill form but can be ground…

Beware of Ghost Brokers

The insurance industry is thoroughly regulated, with numerous checks and balances. In the United Kingdom, however, scammers are able to pose as insurance brokers—or “Ghost Brokers”—offering significantly cheaper insurance than legitimate insurance firms. The Telegraph reports, “The multi-million pound scam is operated by fraudsters who target drivers who are economising and looking for cheaper motor insurance deals. These…

5 Tips To Secure Online Shopping This President’s Day

Making a purchase online around Presidents day? Keep in mind criminals are working hard to intercept your credit card numbers in various way. #1 SCAM: Black-Hat SEO: Criminals create fake websites and then use the same techniques as legitimate online businesses regarding search engine optimization, marketing, and online advertising via Google AdWords. They use keywords…

Almost 5% of Smartphones Lost Every Year

McAfee and Ponemon Institute recently released “The Lost Smartphone Problem,” a study that attempts to determine how many employees’ smartphones are lost or stolen, and the consequences of these lost cell phones on various organizations. Among the 439 sample organizations, the number of missing smartphones is significant: 142,708 in one year. Approximately 62% of smartphones…

5 Insidious Forms of Auto Insurance Fraud

Insurance is intended to have your back in the event that something goes wrong, but some individuals have found loopholes in the system, effectively turning insurance companies into their own personal banks. These scammers have long been known to engage in “slip and falls,” claiming “whiplash,” and engaging in elaborate scams that can take years…

Redefining Privacy Today

Privacy is really -and only- what you say or do within your own home with the shades down that is (generally legal) and between you and your love-ones that is not being communicated, recorded, broadcasted or reproduced in any way online or in a public forum. In the past 5 years we have learned that…

How Device Reputation Can Help Prevent Fraud in the Insurance Industry

Insurance companies, like banks and retailers, are forced to deal with a wide spectrum of fraud, which costs the industry and its customers billions of dollars each year. According to the Insurance Fraud Bureau, “Undetected general insurance claims fraud total £1.9billion a year adding on average £44 to the annual costs individual policyholders face, on…