Identity Theft: Increasing in Numbers in 2023
In 2021, AARP found that identify theft had affected more than 42 million U.S. consumers. This resulted in a loss of $52 billion. The Aite Group predicts that damages from this threat vector could reach a staggering $625.4 billion by 2023. The explosive growth of this crime will continue to increase as we spend more of our lives online. Each day people post a plethora of information to social…
Identity Theft and the Student
Think you’re safe because you’re an upstanding citizen and don’t engage in risky online behaviors? Think again. Two identity thieves recently attempted to cheat over one hundred Emory University graduates after stealing their identities and obtaining loans using the stolen information.
Authorities believe that Maario Coleman and Angela Russell selected their victims after viewing students…
Identity Thieves – Phishing and Pilfering Your PII
Identity thieves are phishing and pilfering your personally identifiable information (PII). In fact, identity fraud reached a record high in 2017 with 16.7 million U.S. victims (an increase of 8 percent over 2016) and $16.8 billion dollars stolen. In view of this, what can you do to safeguard your PII in 2018? Let’s take a look at three methods criminals are using to steal identities.
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Identity Thieves
Sometimes people use the phrase identity theft and identity fraud interchangeably. However, two different processes are involved with these phrases. Identity theft is when identity thieves steal Personally Identifiable Information (PII). PII includes such things as your name, address, Social Security number and email address. Whereas identity fraud is the unauthorized use of stolen PII to…
How To Prevent Social Engineering Attacks by Choosing the Right Security Auditor
It is logical that with all the information we release on prevention of social engineering attacks, employee deception, fraud and identity theft we would receive questions on how to choose a good auditor. Requests have been coming in to have us perform social engineering audits and how to choose a good auditor.
I think what we need to discuss first is the different types of social engineering…
The US 2010 Census may lead to increase in Social Engineer Attacks
The time has been upon us here in the USA where the US Government sent out census form. More than 100 million were mailed out to many households in the USA. Seems innocent enough? Social Engineering Attacks may become more prevalent due to this.
These census forms are designed in a way that all of us should be aware:
* There are only 10 questions on this form
* The form does not request ANY…
Ep. 259 – Security Awareness Series – Listen Up! Social Engineering Your Help Desk with Aaron Painter
Today on the Social-Engineer Podcast: The Security Awareness Series, Chris is joined by Aaron Painter. Aaron is the CEO of Nametag Inc., the company who invented "Sign in with ID" as a more secure alternative to passwords.
After watching too many friends and family members fall victim to identity theft and online fraud, Aaron assembled a team of security experts to build the next…
How Bad Actors Exploit World Tragedy
The world is no stranger to tragedy. From natural disasters to global pandemics and geopolitical conflicts, we have all witnessed events that shake us to our core. Unfortunately, in the midst of these crises, there are those who seek to exploit our emotions and vulnerabilities for their own gain. Malicious actors and scammers, commonly referred to as "bad actors," are adept at seizing the…