WEST PALM BEACH, FL - Neopets, a virtual pet and gaming community, has reported a data breach exposing personal information like usernames, passwords, IP addresses, and more of 69 million user accounts. By combining this information, cybercriminals could target users with spam or phishing attempts to access additional personal information which could lead to identity theft. Neopets representatives have published a statement on Twitter addressing the breach. If … [Read more...]
Hundreds of Domains Being Reported in Scam for Free Federal COVID-19 Test Kits
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The federal government launched a new website in January to help distribute free at-home COVID-19 test kits to U.S. citizens; no sooner did this website go live, so did numerous copycat websites, none of which were legitimate, but many sporting very similar URLs in an attempt to run a scam on unsuspecting visitors. In mid-January, the Biden Administration announced a free COVID-19 test kit program, with the kits being distributed via the U.S. Postal … [Read more...]
Data Security Breach At Robinhood Exposes Personal Info Of Customers
PALM BEACH, FL - The Robinhood financial service company has confirmed a data security incident that has exposed full names or email addresses for approximately seven million customers, with a smaller subset having additional personal information revealed. These customers could be targeted with spam, phishing attempts, identity theft and more. No Social Security numbers, bank account numbers or debit card numbers were exposed according to the company. Robinhood … [Read more...]
Amazingly Convincing Facebook Phishing Scam Takes Place on Facebook.com Itself
PALM BEACH, FL – I have been reviewing and writing about email phishing scams for years and I have seen a ton of them, from outright laughable in their easy discoverability to incredibly convincing, but this latest one I must write about because its one of the most convincing I have ever seen, and it has been happening for over a year now. I know it well as I once fell for it. The reason this is one of the most convincing I’ve ever seen is because unlike most phishing … [Read more...]
Highly Coordinated Attack Impacts Twitter Accounts of World’s Most Famous People
WEST PALM BEACH, FL - On July 15, 2020, several verified Twitter accounts of famous people and companies were taken over in a security breach, including Apple, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Barack Obama and others. Hackers then published tweets from these accounts soliciting donations via Bitcoin. For example, one tweet read: “We are giving back to our community. We support Bitcoin and we believe you should too. All Bitcoin sent to our address below will be sent … [Read more...]
It’s Only A Matter of Time Until You Need to Be Licensed to Operate A Web Server
PALM BEACH, FL – I have been thinking about this off and on for a few years now, but I have never really posted or written about it. That is because it is an awful prediction that I hate the idea of, but I think it is going to eventually happen. Here it goes…. I predict that to operate a web server sometime in the near future, you will be required to have a license, or have passed a basic course in IT security or Cybersecurity intrusion mitigation. Not at the single site … [Read more...]
10 Simple Yet Effective Security Tips To Keep You Cyber Safe and Worry Less in 2020
PALM BEACH, FL - There is no shortage of security breaches and data leaks reported in the news this past year. As we all move into 2020, here are some simple tips to help keep you stay cyber safe, so you can worry less and have more to look forward to this year. Don't Shorten 2020 in Dates You shouldn’t shorten the year 2020 when signing things. Scammers can easily change the abbreviated date, for example from “3/30/20” to “3/30/2018”. Make sure to write out the full … [Read more...]
Data of 267 Million Facebook Users Exposed in Online Database; Found on Hacker Forum
PALM BEACH, FL - Data security researchers discovered an online database containing the names, phone numbers, and Facebook IDs of 267 million Facebook users available for download on a hacker forum. The database was not password protected and had been posted on December 12th. On December 14th, the researchers contacted the internet service provider that was hosting the database and the database was removed on December 19th. According to the Associated Press, a … [Read more...]
This AMEX Email Phishing Scam Wants You Homeless & Poor, With A Zero FICO Score
PALM BEACH, FL - Nothing could better destroy your holiday spirit than a compromise of your most secure personal information in the form of a phishing expedition. Here is one of the latest email scams circulating what is probably hundreds of thousands of inboxes, just in time for Christmas. Here is how it all plays out: You receive an email which appears to be from American Express, but it isn't, it's from some scrupulous hacker hiding somewhere behind a computer who is … [Read more...]
It’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month; Stay Safe With Simple Online Tips
PALM BEACH, FL –The Attorney General of the State of Florida, Ashley Moody has issued a Consumer Alert in recognition of National Cyber-security Awareness Month. The video details some simple steps consumers can take to help avoid becoming a victim of various security threats and online scams such as those which target Internet users with tech support, malware, phishing and ransomware. Today more than ever, our daily lives are dependent on the internet. While advances … [Read more...]
Email Phishing Campaign Using Legitimate Top-Level Domain to Evade Spam Filters
PALM BEACH, FL – A sophisticated email phishing campaign is making the rounds while evading email filters by using a Google domain redirect. According to ThreatPost.com, a leading source of information about IT and business security, the campaign uses percentage-based URL encoding to deceive users. The campaign makes use of what’s called percentage-based URL encoding – a basic URL-encoding technique in which normal ASCII characters (i.e., “abc” and “123”) are converted … [Read more...]
Alphabet Releases App to Prevent DNS Manipulation, Deter Online Censorship
NEW YORK, - Google’s Alphabet has released a new Android app called “Intra” which prevents “DNS manipulation”, a process used often by ISPs to redirect invalid domain name resolution to their own version of branded search results, usually accompanied by search engine ads – when used nefariously, it is also a tactic of hackers who steal and redirect users to phishing sites or to otherwise dupe them into downloading viruses and spyware. The app is made available by a company … [Read more...]
Be Prepared for Clever Scams & Tactics
I often write about security, privacy and other important personal safety issues such as being and keeping aware of security vulnerabilities, email threats and phishing scams..... It is often very simple precautions you can take which will save you a lifetime of headaches. With this type of material in mind, I received the following tips by email over the weekend from a family member and they are seem like they are worth sharing (rather than just deleting) as they will keep … [Read more...]
Major Security Vulnerability Due to IDN Domains; Don’t Get Phished Out of Business
NEW YORK, NY - This is the most dangerous and convincing phishing trick I have ever seen before. It’s so amazingly horrible it will fool even the smartest computer users and it’s an issue that all browser companies should be fixing immediately. Browsers should be updated to prevent these Unicode domains from being translated. Once again our friends at WordFence are keeping all of us safe with critical information on this phishing trick and helping build awareness about … [Read more...]
New York Releases Tips to Avoid Falling Victim to Cybercrime; Commemorates National Data Privacy Day
NEW YORK, NY - A host of New York State government agencies today announced important tips consumers and businesses can follow to protect their online privacy and information from unscrupulous scammers. These helpful steps and reminders from the Department of State, Office of Information Technology Services, Department of Taxation and Finance, Department of Financial Services and the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services help commemorate National Data Privacy … [Read more...]