Around 1994, when I operated a small mail order catalog business, it was very difficult to obtain “merchant status,” or approval to accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express cards. It was easier if you had a storefront, but payment processors made mail order businesses jump through more hoops. Their main concern was that companies…
The amount of money made and lost due to fraud is surpassing the illegal drug trade. A digital arms race has law enforcement officials nipping at the criminals’ heels. Retailers and banks continue to fight criminal hackers, but are being bombarded by advanced, persistent threats that eventually make their way into the network. There are…
People love their cars. My 80-year-old mother-in-law goes nutty at the thought of not being able to drive. “Take my car and you take my freedom,” she says. I understand where she is coming from. Personally, I don’t like to drive. But I do like riding my Harley! Many consider cars synonymous with freedom. Cars…
If you ever decide to get all hopped up on drugs and seek some extra cash to feed your fix, I’d suggest not wearing your governmental department of corrections court ordered previously installed GPS ankle-monitoring bracelet to your next home invasion. Chances are you’ll get caught. But as tongue and cheek funny this may be,…
People lie when they set up online dating profiles, they lie when they put up fake social media profiles, and they lie to the innocent victims of their scams. Banks and retailers know better than anyone that people lie. There are countless scenarios and justifications, but people who lie invariably do it in order to…
While out for an evening with friends talking about everything under the sun, including security, which I’m obsessed with – and people often quiz me anyways, my mobile rang from an “unknown” number. The caller, a computer, stated “Hello, this is a call from Eastern Bank. Your MasterCard account has been locked. Please press 1…
Most people think that burglaries happen at night, in the dark when burglars can creep undetected. But the reality is most burglaries happen during the day when you are at work. Burglars work too, in the day, 9-5, like you. This is why a home security alarm is so important. In Warwick Rhode Island police…
In 1990, when only the government and a number of universities were using the Internet, there were 357 unique pieces of malware. The need for security began with desktop computing when the only means of compromising data was by inserting a contaminated floppy disk into a PC or opening an infected email attachment. That was…
“Social fakes” are invented profiles on social media (often referred to as profile misrepresentation), which can be used to harass or mock victims anonymously. But the more lucrative fake profile is one that imitates a legitimate business, damaging that business’s online reputation. The imposters’ ultimate goal? Spam leading to scams. Social-web security provider Impermium published…
Police in Morristown NJ have a prime suspect in mind which they call an “opportunist”. Sometimes the burglar breaks in by using a crowbar or breaking a window but mostly he just goes in through an unlocked door or window. He’s going after the standard gold jewelry and laptops, stuff that’s easy to fence. But…
