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Beware of the CEO E-mail Scam

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Beware of the B.E.C. scam, says a report at fbi.gov. The hackers target businesses and are good at getting what they want.

emailThe hackers first learn the name of a company’s CEO or other key figure such as the company’s lawyer or a vendor. They then figure out a way to make an e-mail, coming from them, appear to come from this CEO, and send it to employees.

The recipients aren’t just randomly selected, either. The hackers do their homework to find out which employees handle money. They even learn the company’s particular language, says the fbi.gov article. The company may be a big business, small enterprise and even a non-profit organization.

Once they get it all down, they then request a wire transfer of money. This does not raise red flags in particular if the company normally sends out wire transfer payments.

This CEO impersonation scam is quite pervasive, stinging every state in the U.S. and occurring in at least 79 other nations. The fbi.gov article cites the following findings:

  • Between October 2013 and February 2016, complaints came in from 17,642 victims. This translated to over $2.3 billion lost.
  • Arizona has been hit hard by this scam, with an average loss per scam coming in at between $25,000 and $75,000.

Companies or enterprises that are the victim of this scam should immediately contact their bank, and also request that the bank contact the financial institution where the stolen funds were transferred to.

Next, the victim should file a complaint with the IC3.

How can businesses protect themselves from these scam e-mails?

  • Remember, the hacker’s e-mail is designed to look like it came from a key figure with the organization. This may include the type of font that the key figure normally uses in their e-mails; how they sign off (e.g., “Best,” “Thanks a bunch,”), and any nicknames, such as “Libbie” for Elizabeth. Therefore, contact that person with a separate e-mail (not a reply to the one you received) to get verification, or call that individual.
  • Be suspicious if the e-mail’s content focuses on a wire transfer request, especially if it’s urgent.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing identity theft prevention.

Security Appreciation lacking

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What’s it gonna take for companies to crack down on their cybersecurity? What’s holding them back? Why do we keep hearing about one company data breach after another?

1SWell, there’s just not enough IT talent going around. The irony is that most company higher-ups admit that cybersecurity is very important and can even name specific situations that could compromise security, such as

having multiple vendors vs. only a single vendor; not having quality-level encryption in place; allowing employees to bring their own mobile devices to work and use them there for business; and having employees use cloud services for business.

Many even admit that they lack confidence in preventing a sophisticated malware onslaught and are worried about spear phishing attacks.

So as you can see, the understanding is out there, but then it kind of fizzles after that point: Businesses are not investing enough in beefing up their cybersecurity structure.

Let’s first begin with signs that a computer has been infected with malware:

  • It runs ridiculously slow.
  • Messages being sent from your e-mail—behind your back by some unknown entity.
  • Programs opening and closing on their own.

What can businesses (and people at home or traveling) do to enhance cybersecurity?

  • Regularly back up all data.
  • All devices should have security software and a firewall, and these should be regularly updated.
  • Got an e-mail from your boss or company SEO with instructions to open an attachment or click a link? Check with that person first—by phone—to verify they sent you the attachment or link. Otherwise, this may be a spear phishing attempt: The hacker is posing as someone you normally defer to, to get you to reveal sensitive information.
  • Mandate ongoing security training for employees. Include staged phishing e-mails to see who bites the bait. Find out why they bit and retrain them.
  • Never open e-mails with subject lines telling you an account has been suspended; that you won a prize; inherited money; your shipment failed; you owe the IRS; etc. Scammers use dramatic subject lines to get people to open these e-mails and then click on malicious links or open attachments that download viruses.
  • Install a virtual private network before you use public Wi-Fi.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to TheBestCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention.

Online Shopping and Counterfeit Goods – The Facts Don’t Lie

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As the holiday season creeps upon us, research shows that an astonishing 24% people who are buying online have been duped by scammers. Whether you are buying shoes, electronics or the latest fashions and accessories, research companies are showing that you are at risk of being duped.

9DWhen you look at the overall shopping behavior of consumers, we see that about 34% do all of their shopping online, and during the holiday season, this number rises to 39% of all consumers. That is a lot of people for counterfeiters to focus on.

Mark Frost, the CEO of MarkMonitor, explains that it is crucial for customers to stay aware of the possibility of buying counterfeit goods, especially during the holidays. Most of us are looking for a bargain, and this is exactly why we tend to jump on these deals. On top of this, counterfeiters have gotten very good at making these fake goods look almost identical to the real deal, and it is near impossible, in some cases, for the untrained eye to tell them apart. Here are some more facts:

People are Exposed to Online Counterfeit Goods All of the Time

With so many counterfeit goods out there, you have likely been exposed to them, or even made a purchase. Younger people are more at risk of buying these goods, and when looking at those in the 18-34 year old range, almost 40% had purchased counterfeit goods in the past.

In addition to these goods, about 56% of people have received counterfeit emails, or those that seem as if they are coming from a certain company, such as Nike, but in reality, all of the items are fake. Fortunately, only about one in 20 consumers are likely to click on these links, but that means that about 5% of consumers are directed to these sites, too, and may get caught up in the bargains.

This is a Global Issue

Statistics also show that about 64% of global consumers are worried about online security. These same consumers report that they feel safer buying from local extensions, such as .de, .uk and .co.

Attitudes Towards Buying Counterfeit Goods

One of the most alarming facts that come up in these studies is that about 20% of consumers continue the purchase of their goods, even after finding themselves on a website with counterfeit goods.

As you continue your holiday shopping, make sure to keep these facts in mind and make sure to research any site you choose to buy from, even those that look like they may be legitimate.

Shoppers need to be cautious when searching online to spread their holiday cheer and MarkMonitor suggests checking this list twice to find out if websites are naughty or nice:

  1. Check the URL: In a practice known as “typosquatting” fraudulent sites will often be under a misspelled brandname.com, attempting to trick consumers into thinking they are on a reputable website.
  2. Check the Price: Counterfeiters have been getting very smart about pricing lately and not discounting their wares as heavily as before, but deep discounts – especially on unknown e-commerce sites – are a tip-off that consumers should do a lot more checking before buying.
  3. Check the “About” and the “FAQs” pages: Though some sites look professional at first glance, but are not always so careful about these pages. Check for spelling and grammatical errors.
  4. Check for reviews: Many fraudulent websites’ reputations proceed them. Search for what people are saying about the site and include the term ‘scam’ with the site name to see if they are known to be a risky site.  

Robert Siciliano CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video. Disclosures.

8 Ways to Ensure Safe and Secure Online Shopping this Holiday Season

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So, who’s on your holiday gift list this year? That list is a lot longer than you think; consider all the names of hackers that have not yet appeared on it. Scammers will do whatever it takes to get on your holiday gift list! Here’s how to keep these cyber thieves out of your pocket:

  • Before purchasing from a small online merchant, see what the Better Business Bureau says and also search Google for reviews.
  • If you see an unexpected e-mail allegedly from a retailer you shop at, don’t open it. Scammers send out millions of trick e-mails that appear to be from major retailers. They hope to trick gullible shoppers into clicking on them and revealing sensitive information. So many of these scam e-mails get sent out that it’s common for someone to receive one that appears to be from a store they very recently purchased from.
  • When shopping online at a coffee house or other public spot, sit with your back to a wall so that “visual hackers” don’t spy over your shoulder. Better yet, avoid using public Wi-Fi for online shopping.
  • Back up your data. When shopping online it’s highly probable you’ll stumble upon an infected website designed to inject malicious code on your device. Malware called “ransomware” will hold your data hostage. Backing up your data in the cloud to Carbonite protects you from having to pay the ransom.
  • Save all your financial, banking and other sensitive online transactions for when you’re at home to avoid unsecure public Wi-Fi networks.
  • Change all of your passwords to increase your protection should a retailer you shop at fall victim to a data breach. Every account of yours should have a different and very unique password.
  • Ditch the debit card; a thief could drain your bank account in seconds. Use only credit cards. Why? If a fraudster gets your number and you claim the unauthorized purchase within 60 days, you’ll get reimbursed.
  • Review your credit card statements monthly and carefully. Investigate even tiny unauthorized charges, since thieves often start out small to “test the waters.”

Robert Siciliano is an expert in personal privacy, security and identity theft. Learn more about Carbonite Personal plans. See him discussing identity theft prevention. Disclosures.

Infrastructures under attack

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It’s been stated more than once that WWIII will most likely be cyber-based, such as dismantling a country’s entire infrastructure via cyber weapons. And don’t think for a moment this doesn’t mean murdering people.

4DA report at bits.blogs.nytimes.com notes that foreign hackers have cracked into the U.S. Department of Energy’s networks 150 times; they’ve stolen blueprints and source code to our power grid as well. Some say they have the capability to shut down the U.S.

The bits.blogs.nytimes.com article goes on to say that cyber warfare could result in death by the masses, e.g., water supply contamination of major cities, crashing airplanes by hacking into air traffic control systems, and derailing passenger trains. So it’s no longer who has the most nuclear missiles.

The list of successful hacks is endless, including that of a thousand energy companies in North America and Europe and numerous gas pipeline companies. The U.S.’s biggest threats come from Russia and China.

So why haven’t they shut down our grid and blown up furnaces at hundreds of energy companies? Maybe because they don’t have the ability just yet or maybe because they don’t want to awaken a sleeping giant. To put it less ominously, they don’t want to rock the boat of diplomatic and business relations with the U.S.

Well then, what about other nations who hate the U.S. so much that there’s no boat to be rocked in the first place? The skills to pull off a power grid deactivation or air traffic control infiltration by enemies such as Iran or Islamic militants are several years off.

On the other hand, such enemies don’t have much to lose by attacking, and this is worrisome. It is these groups we must worry about. They’re behind alright, but they’re trying hard to catch up to Russia and China. For now, we can breathe easy, but there’s enough going on to get the attention of Homeland Security and other government entities.

Recent attacks show that these bad guys in foreign lands are getting better at causing mayhem. At the same time, the U.S.’s cyber security isn’t anything to brag about, being that very recently, some white hat hackers had tested out the defenses of the Snohomish County Public Utility District in Washington State. They infiltrated it within 22 minutes.

Another weak point in our defenses is the component of pinning down the source of major hacking incidents. So if WWIII becomes real, the U.S. won’t necessarily know where the attack came from.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to TheBestCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention.

How to avoid Online Fundraising Scams

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You’ve probably heard of the gofundme.com site, where all sorts of stories are posted of people seeking donations. Some are tragic, others are trite. You may be touched by a particular story, perhaps one in which an entire family is killed in a house fire.

9DYou click the “Donate Now” button and donate $50. So just how do you know that family who died in the fire really existed?

Gofundme.com and similar sites are loaded with “campaigns,” just tons of them. Think of the logistics involved if these sites hired people to verify every campaign. This would require enormous amounts of time and a lot of people and expense.

People don’t think. They just assume every campaign is for real. Do you realize how easy it is to start a campaign? Gofundme.com, for instance, only requires that you have a Facebook account with a valid-looking profile picture of the campaign starter, and at least 10 Facebook friends (last I checked, anyways).

  • Who at Gofundme.com and similar sites verifies that the profile picture is that of the campaign starter?
  • Who at these sites verifies that the “friends” are legitimate, vs. all phony accounts or “friends” purchased from seedy overseas companies that create fake profiles?
  • Even if the avatar and friends are for real, how do these crowdfunding sites confirm the authenticity of the campaigns?

It’s all based on the honor system. You take their word for it, though some campaigns are high profile cases. People have given money to fake campaigns. How can you prevent getting conned?

  • Check the news to see if the campaign story really happened. But a house fire in a small town doesn’t always hit the Internet. Nor is it newsworthy that some housewife is trying to raise money to buy her disabled son a set of golf clubs. So stay with campaign stories that you know have occurred.
  • But again, a scammer could take a real story, pretend to know a victim and scam donators. So see if there’s a legitimate pathway to donate to the real people involved in the story, such as through their local police department.
  • Stick to reputable charity sites. Offline, never give money solicited over the phone.
  • Be leery of charity solicitations for very high profile cases, as these attract scammers.
  • If donations are solicited by snail mail, check the Better Business Bureau. Any scammer could create a legitimate sounding name: “American Association for Autistic Children.”

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing identity theft prevention.

Beware of these 10 Nasty Scams

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Let’s look at the top 10 scams (random order).

9DCharity

  • A fraudster claims to represent a charitable organization.
  • Such scams can operate ring-style, such as one out in Colorado some years ago in which women wearing crisp white dresses that resembled the dresses nurses used to wear, and also wearing white caps (like a nurse), solicited motorists for money by walking around at stoplights holding out tin cans that had a label on them like “Help Fight Drugs.” Many people were fooled by the white outfits and labeled cans.
  • Check out the legitimacy of the organization at bbb.org or charitynavigator.org.

E-mail

  • You receive an e-mail that seems to be from a legitimate company, like your bank, the IRS, UPS, etc. In the message is a link that you click. You just downloaded a virus.
  • Never click links inside e-mails. Contact the company by phone.

Cell Phone

  • Your cell phone rings once. You don’t recognize the number. You call back. You then get charged about $20. Whatever happens after a connection is made, you’ll also be charged a high fee per minute.
  • Ignore one-ring calls. If it’s important they’ll call back.

Credit Card Fraud

  • Ever see a tiny charge on your credit card but have no idea what it was for? It’s probably by a crook.
  • Always report even the smallest charges if they’re unfamiliar.

Sob Story

  • You get an e-mail that seems to be from someone you know. They’re overseas, got mugged, sob sob…and need you to wire them money.
  • Don’t send them a penny; it’s a scam.

Sweepstakes and Lottery

  • “You’ve Won!” shouts your new e-mail. So you click the link in the e-mail to claim your prize—which is a nice fat virus that infects your computer.
  • Run like the wind if the message tells you that you need to pay a fee to claim your winnings.

Jury Duty

  • Your phone rings. You answer. The caller tells you that you’ll be subject to fines because you didn’t show up for jury duty. But relax, you can avoid the fines by providing personal information or paying a fee.
  • Courts have better things to do than to call people who missed jury duty (do you realize how many calls that would be?!).
  • Though failing to report for jury duty does have consequences, the action is never initiated via phone.

Computer Lockout

  • You turn on your computer and see a message stating the device is locked.
  • To unlock it, you’re told to provide sensitive information.
  • Contact your security software provider or a local geek.

WiFi Hacking

  • You connect to free WiFi thinking your secure. But waiting in the wings is a hacker to sniff out your data.
  • Always use a VPN such as Hotspot Shield to encrypt your data over free WiFi.

Home Improvement

  • Someone appears at your door wearing a workman’s outfit and offers to do a job for a dirt cheap fee. They want the money upfront and will return later to do the work, or some variant of this.
  • Stick with bonded, insured, reputable companies. Refer to Angie’s List or the BBB.

Health Care

  • Someone calls you offering to help you sign up for health care.
  • Hang up; it’s a crook because government officials don’t do this.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of Identity Theft Privacy: Security Protection and Fraud Prevention: Your Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft and Computer Fraud. See him knock’em dead in this Security Awareness Training video.

How to keep a Clean Online Presence

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At any given time, someone, somewhere, is probably googling you. This could be a former classmate, a neighbor, someone you’re trying to do business with, a relative, who knows?

1PAre you confident that whatever they find will be information that’s truly representative of you? Maybe if you have a really common name, it may be lost in cyber muddle, but the more unusual your name is (or how the first name is spelled), the easier it will be to find you. If you want a clean online presence, there are things you can do.

  • Search yourself on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
  • Google yourself and see what comes up within the first two pages of results. Make sure you’re logged out of Google or other browser you’re searching on. The results can be different vs being logged in.
  • Log back in and search your name again to see how the results look.

But how do you get rid of negative information and make yourself look better?

If you’re the creator of negative information, it’s a cinch. Just go into your Facebook account or wherever the unflattering information is, and delete it. Also adjust the settings for privacy, such as limiting post or image visibility to select visitors.

  • Search engines. Ask the search engine to remove the page result. For Google go here. For Bing go here.
  • Google+. Hide what you don’t want others to see. Check out the privacy settings.
  • LinkedIn. Make sure your profile is updated.
  • Twitter. Make the account private to prevent retweets. If you’re new to Twitter, think very carefully before you tweet, as tweets really do get around.
  • In addition to these tactics, try online reputation management firms. They aren’t cheap, but they work, mostly.
  • Go through all of your account profiles and upgrade them. Make them crisp, clear and free of fluff or anything that doesn’t flatter you. Add information that makes you more impressive. And use a good photo for your profile or avatar. Really, some Facebook profile pictures are ridiculous and unflattering, some not even making any sense.
  • Replace racy or otherwise negative images of you with more respectable ones. Or just delete them, period, like endless selfies that shout, “Ooh, look at me in this one!”
  • Be very careful what photos you put up on Facebook and Instagram. If you’re soliciting for donations, don’t have a photo of you eating lobster.
  • Sign up with a nameplate site like about.me, seelio or flavors.me where you can say good things about yourself and list your skills.
  • Get your own domain, even if you think your name is taken (use a variation), then use a reliable hosting company and put up your work.
  • Link all of these accounts so that visitors to one will be driven to the others.
  • Sign up with services to show your skills such as YouTube and Vimeo. See what’s out there for your various talents (e.g., Flickr for photographers).
  • Follow the cardinal rule: Don’t put anything in cyberspace that you wouldn’t want to reveal to 50,000 people at the coliseum.
  • Oh, drinking and posting don’t mix. Just don’t. Stop it. Really.

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 Hackers use LinkedIn to Scam

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Hackers love LinkedIn because it links them in—straight through the portal of the targeted company. Geez, how much easier could this be, what with all the publically-exposed e-mail addresses of key players (and also worker bees) in big companies that someone wants to hack.

4DAn article on blog.sungardas.com was written by a white-hatter (his job is to try to hack his clients’ systems so that they know how to make them more impenetrable to the bad guys). The author says he’d make a beeline to LinkedIn if he became a black-hatter.

In addition to all of those revealed e-mail addresses, the hacker could also learn (without hacking, of course) what a business’s e-mail structure is. He can then compile a list of employees for his social engineering attacks. (Can you just see him watering at the mouth over this—like putting a sizzling steak in front of a dog.)

A phishing campaign could trick the targets into giving up crucial information—essentially handing the company key to the hacker. The crook, however, knows better than to pull this stunt on IT employees. But fertile territory includes employees in the marketing, accounting and customer service departments.

Maybe you’ve read that every professional these days absolutely should have a LinkedIn account. You can bet that every hacker agrees!

Companies need to come up with a way to prevent hackers from sneaking into their network via that bastion of essentiality known as LinkedIn.

The penetration-tester, in his article recommends that businesses do the following:

Social engineering training. Workers must be aggressively trained in how to sniff out a phishy-smelling e-mail. No corners should be cut with this training program, which should include ongoing staged attacks.

A statement clarifying communication about security information. To help prevent employees from giving out sensitive information to the wrong people, the company must figure out how communication will be conducted, then get it down on paper. For example, “E-mails from our company will never ask you to reveal your username and password.”

Definitive reporting process for suspicious activity. Employees need to have, on paper again, specific instructions in how to report suspicious activity, such as a questionable e-mail. These instructions should be simple and to the point.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to TheBestCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention.

Very effective Social Engineering Scams

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It’s amazing how ingenious cybercriminals are, but the victims also need to take some responsibility for falling for these ruses, especially when the victim is a business that has failed to train its employees in cybersecurity measures.

10DRansomware

The stuff of science fiction is here: Who would have ever thought there’d ever be a such thing as criminals remotely stealing someone’s personal information (word processing files, any kind of image, etc.), scrambling it up via encryption, then demanding ransom in exchange for the remote “key” to “unlock” the encryption?

Payment is remotely by Bitcoin which can’t be traced. The payment is usually at least $500 and escalates the longer the victim waits.

The virus that poisons a computer to steal someone’s files is called ransomware, a type of malicious software (in this case, “Cryptolocker” and “CryptoDefense”). But how does this virus get into your computer in the first place?

It’s called social engineering: tricking users into allowing their computer to be infected, or duping them into revealing personal information.

Often, a phishing e-mail is used: It has an attention-getting subject line that entices the user to open it. The message contains a link. They click the link, and a virus is downloaded. Or, the link takes them to a site which then downloads the virus.

These e-mails, sometimes designed to look like they’re from the company the user works for, often go to workplace computers where employees get tricked. These kinds of attacks are lucrative to their instigators.

Funeral Fraud

If you wanted to notify a relative or friend that a mutually dear person has left this earth…would you send an e-mail or phone that person? Seems to me that heavy news like this would warrant a phone call and voice interaction.

So if you ever receive an e-mail from a funeral home indicating that a dear one to you has passed, and to click a link to the funeral home to learn details about the burial ceremony…consider this a scam.

Because if you click the funeral site link, you’ll either get redirected to the crook’s server because he’s already created an infected funeral looking site ahead of time. This is where a virus will be downloaded to your computer.

Vishing Credit Card Scam

You get a phone call. An automated voice identifies itself as your credit card company (they’ll say “credit card company” rather than the specific name). It then says something like, “We are investigating what appears to be a fraudulent charge on your card.”

They’ll ask if you made a particular purchase lately, then to hit 1 for yes and 2 for no. If you hit no, you’re told to enter your credit card number, three-digit security code and expiration date. You just fed a thief all he (or she) needs in order to go on an online or on-phone spending spree.

Ever order something via phone and all you had to give up was the credit card number, expiration date and security code? This trick is also aimed at employees. The calls come from an automated machine that generates thousands of these calls.

Healthcare Record Scam

You receive an e-mail that appears to be from your employer or healthcare provider that you get through work. This may come to you on your home computer or the one you use at work. The e-mail is an announcement of some enticing change in your healthcare plan.

The message may reference something personal about you such as marital status, income or number of dependents. When enough of these e-mails are pumped out with automated software, the personal situation of many recipients will square off with those identified in the e-mail, such as income and number of children. The user is then lured into clicking a link in the e-mail, and once that click is made…malware is released.

Facebook Company Group Scam

Scammers will scan Facebook and LinkedIn seeking out employees of a particular company and create a group. This groups purpose is for information gathering so scammers can penetrate a company’s facility or website. Once all the groups member join, the scammers will pose various innocuous questions and start palatable discussions that make everyone feel comfortable.

Over time scammers will direct these discussions to leak bits of data that allow criminals to enter a facility under a stolen identity or to contact specific employees who have advanced access to computer systems in an attempt to get usernames and passwords.

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.