#1 Nigerian Scams: While these types of scams are generally understood to be Nigerian in nature and origin, and are in fact named after the 419 Nigerian code that made them illegal, advanced-fee scams happen right here in the good old USA by Americans presenting to offer jobs or may ask help to transfer money.…
Cybercrime is one of the most successful and lucrative industries of our time, growing by double digits year after year. Over the last decade, cyber crooks have developed new and sophisticated ways to prey on an explosion of Internet users, with little danger of being caught. Meanwhile, consumers face greater risks to their money and…
In July of 2007 on a hot summer night a serial killer was arrested after he broke into a 15-year-old girl’s room in Chelmsford Massachusetts in the middle of the night and tried to rape her. The girl’s father heard her scream and held the masked and gloved Lane in a headlock until police arrived,…
Contrary to what some might suggest, I’ve never thought it was a good idea to place your name on a “stop mail” list at the post office. Because some crack head postal employee now has a list of opportunities. It’s the same thing with stopping delivery of your newspaper. Once you are on that list,…
It is easier than ever to guess or predict an individual’s Social Security number, which puts us all at a greater risk for identity theft. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a reliable method for predicting Social Security numbers, using information from social networking sites, data brokers, voter registration lists, online white pages, and…
Cloning occurs when hackers scan the airwaves to obtain SIM card information, electronic serial numbers and mobile identification numbers, and then using that data on other phones. Cloning can happen anywhere, anytime that you’re using your phone. The bad guy simply uses an interceptor, hardware, and software to make a phone exactly like yours. A…
Our everyday activities are being monitored, today, right now, either by self-imposed technology or the ever-present Big Brother. Traditionally, documenting our existence went like this: You’re born, and you get a medical and a birth record. These documents follow you throughout your life, filed and viewed by many. You must present these records in order…
Prognosticators are silly. Or that’s how I’ve always viewed them, anyway. They combine past experience with their perspective on current trends to make predictions and pretend to be smarter than you. Many prognosticators in the financial world have failed miserably, and we’re all paying the price now. Their current excuse is “irrational exuberance.” But prognostication…
Social media is the fifth form of mainstream media. At this point, most people know how to use social media, and how to navigate the various websites. But what most users don’t yet realize is how social media can be used against them. Social media identity theft occurs for a number of reasons. 1. An…
Fortunately not all burglars are Tom Cruise like in a scene from Mission Impossible. While some are violent, most of them are bumbling buffoons who need their next fix and just jiggle door knobs and make a quick hit and run to sell your stuff for a $10 vile. One such dumb criminal took advantage…
