You may never be prepared for the moment you discover your personally identifiable information (PII) has been fraudulently used to steal your money, your tax refunds, or create an entirely new synthetic identity. Once discovered, identity fraud can take hundreds of hours and months of work to recover. Continue reading
Did you know a child’s identity is twice as likely to be compromised as an adult’s? More than 1 million children under the age of 18 in the U.S. were identity theft victims in a single year, according to the most recent study on Child Identity Fraud by Javelin Strategy & Research. Two-thirds of those young victims are under the age of eight. Cyber thieves seek out the untapped identities of children to open credit cards, commit tax fraud, qualify for government benefits, or apply for work or a place to live – and by doing so, this compromise of personal information can go undetected for years, at least until your child has a need to open a credit card account or apply for a loan. Continue reading
The holidays are a time for family, friends and the inevitable rush of snagging a great holiday deal. But don’t think you’re the only one excited for the holiday shopping season — scammers have created their own “season of scams” and your name is definitely on their list.
A shocking 40 percent of online fraud happens during the last three months of the year, according to Trustev. This spike in fraud and related scams intersects the holiday season as consumers get lost in the hustle and bustle of shopping, traveling and prepping for the upcoming celebrations. Continue reading
Infographic: Security Lessions Learned in 2013
To say that 2013 wasn’t a very good year for security is an understatement. From endless NSA leaks to major data breaches at LivingSocial, Adobe, and Target, it’s a year that I hope you won’t forget too quickly. Otherwise you may learn nothing from the security failures, leaving you more vulnerable to becoming a fraud victim yourself. If you want a head start on security for 2014, but the security headlines from 2013 already seem blurry, here are brief reminders of some of the bigger fraud-related news stories, events and failures.
January – The New York Times confirms that it was the victim of a sophisticated attack by Chinese hackers using advanced malware. The hackers used at least 45 different types of malware, only one of which was detected by the firm’s security systems. Continue reading