The Equifax breach, as we now all know, is completely terrible: Roughly 143 million customers in the U.S. had their personal data compromised. Concerned consumers are, naturally, looking for information — but fake sites or scams are everywhere. [More]
Phishing
Why Won’t Macy’s Tell Me If Password Reset Email Is Legit Or Not?
By 6.6.17
Someone (either Macy’s or perhaps a mysterious third-party) is confusing shoppers by blasting out emails telling them to either change their Macy’s passwords… or just ignore the email altogether because maybe they don’t have an account and shouldn’t be worried. [More]
Google Adds Phishing Protection To Android Gmail App
By 5.4.17
Yesterday, millions of Gmail users became the targets of a phishing scam in which someone they knew sent a Google Doc for them to edit. Once they clicked on the email, however, they opened their computers and email accounts to ne’er-do-wells. Now, Google is launching an update that may make it easier for users to decipher when an email is suspicious — as long as they’re using the Android app. [More]
Google, Facebook Employees Targeted In $100M Phishing Scam
By 4.27.17
When the Justice Department recently said that two major tech companies had paid out a total of $100 million to a scammer posing as a hardware manufacturer, it chose to not name the businesses that had been conned. But now, both Google and Facebook are confirming that they were the ones victimized by this phishing scheme. [More]
FTC: Businesses Could Be Doing More To Protect Customers From Phishing, But Aren’t
By 3.3.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
You probably know the danger signs of a phishing message when it arrives in your inbox: It impersonates a company that you don’t do business with, mentions a transaction that didn’t happen, or has blatant spelling or grammatical errors. The Federal Trade Commission, though, notes that businesses that contact consumers online could implement simple steps to keep phishing messages from us in the first place. They just don’t. [More]
No, The FTC Did Not Email You That You’re Under Investigation
By 12.28.16
If the Federal Trade Commission is investigating you or your business, they will not send you an email asking you to click on a link for more information. How do we know that? The Federal Trade Commission says so. [More]
Don’t Fall For The ‘Missed Delivery Notice’ Email Scam This Holiday Season
By 12.9.16
If you’re like everyone else you know, you’ve probably been doing — or plan to do — a bit of online holiday shopping this year. Missing a delivery could put a serious kink in your day, but don’t let that fear draw you into a scammer’s net. [More]
The Latest In Phishing Scams: Instagram’s “Ugly List”
By 10.4.16
No one wants to be called names, and no one wants those hurtful names to be blasted all over social media. Unfortunately, it appears fraudsters are taking advantage of those fears with an “ugly list” phishing scam making the rounds on Instagram. [More]
Did You Pirate Game Of Thrones? Beware Of Phishing Scam Posing As Copyright Notice
By 7.8.16
HBO’s Game of Thrones isn’t just another wacky sitcom about fancy chairs. It’s also the most frequently pirated show on TV, with huge numbers of people clamoring each week to download and share the latest episode. Scammers are now trying to cash in on this sizable audience by sending phishing emails disguised as copyright notices. [More]
IRS: Email, Text Scams Targeting Taxpayers Up 400% This Year
By 2.19.16
It’s tax season, which means it’s the prime time for scammers to crawl out from underneath their scammy rocks and try to nab taxpayers’ personal info. So far, this year’s electronic tax scams are even more prevalent than before, the Internal Revenue Service says, surging 400%. [More]
Protect Your Heart (And Wallet) From These Valentine’s Day Scams
By 2.11.16 — Updated: 2.13.17
This is the year. It’s the year you’ll wake up on Feb. 15 without the stinging sensation of intense regret that inevitably follows after mourning Valentine’s Day at the bottom of a booze bottle, covered in bits of melted chocolate stuck to you in your sleep, because your beloved turned out to be a scammer. Because this year, you’re going to be prepared for any romance scams that may come your way. [More]
AAA: E-ZPass Users Targeted By Phishing Scam Demanding Money For Unpaid Tolls
By 8.18.15
Scammers can be tricky to identify, but when they target the experts, it makes spotting fakes a lot easier: AAA is warning E-ZPass users of a phishing scam circulating around right now demanding money for unpaid tolls, after one of its own pros received a suspicious email. [More]
Google Launches New Tool To Protect Consumers’ Password Security
By 4.29.15
Sometimes cyber criminals do such a good job camouflaging their ploys to steal consumers’ personal information that you might not recognize that the site you just entered your password on isn’t a legitimate login page. In an effort to combat such ruses, Google has created a new tool for its Chrome browser that aims to ensure users’ passwords don’t end up in the hands of ne’er do wells. [More]
Watch Out For This Very Convincing PayPal Phishing Attempt
By 6.25.14
Reader Phil sells on eBay, and has a specific e-mail address that’s only for use with PayPal. The only people he has given this address to are eBay/PayPal itself, and to his customers. That’s why he was surprised to receive a phishing e-mail specifically addressed to his business name and his PayPal address, and wondered where the baddies got it. [More]
EA Server Hacked, Websites Replaced By Phishing Scam
By 3.20.14
From the Mass Effect 3 debacle to last year’s disastrous SimCity launch, things always seem to go badly for video game goliath Electronic Arts around the time of our Worst Company In America contest; perhaps that’s why EA is the two-time reigning champ. The latest gaffe involves a hacked EA web server that appears to have been used by scammers in an attempt to steal folks’ Apple ID credentials. [More]
Click On The Link In That ‘Funeral Notice’ E-mail At Your Own Risk
By 2.13.14
Most e-mail scams try to take advantage of consumers’ curiosity, which is why phishing messages promising sex and/or porn still dominate the scam spam landscape. But some online jerks are trying to tap into an equally primal, but less crude, instinct by sending out fake funeral notices in the hope that people won’t be able to keep themselves from clicking away. [More]
No, Comcast Will Not Threaten To Arrest You If You Don’t Pay Your Bill
By 10.4.13
So you’ve received an e-mail from Comcast saying you’re $25 late on your cable bill and that if you don’t resolve the issue ASAP, you could be arrested. First, that’s simply not true, and second, that message isn’t from Comcast. [More]
AP Twitter Hack Shows That Not Every Scam Email Is Created Equal
By 4.25.13
So you think you’re savvy when it comes to scams, huh? Maybe you’d never click on a link in an email from someone you don’t know with a funny email address asking to send money to Nigeria — but what if it seemed to come from a coworker you know very well including a link that looks totally legit? That’s apparently how the hack of the Associated Press Twitter account went down, with a scam called “spear-phishing.” [More]
