The one group of people who never settle is cyber attackers. The list of attacks on organizations and individuals is only expanding, and the holiday season is the bonus these malicious actors await. The following are some of the latest updates from the cybersecurity realm
Email security is all the more crucial at this time of the year when employees take off to their homes, and cyber adversaries get on their malicious working hats. The festive season has witnessed an increased number of cyberattacks in the past, and this year is no different. Read on to learn about the recent cybersecurity breaches
Yet again, cybersecurity becomes a sensational topic. With encrypted apps getting compromised and nations launching cyber espionage, the news headlines are filled with instances of ransomware protection getting overthrown by cyber adversaries. Here are some of the most crucial cyber headlines from this past week.
Cyber attacks account for some of the most significant financial losses across industries annually. The following cybersecurity incidents shall leave you baffled and with an urge to expedite your organizations’ security strategies.
Ensuring robust cybersecurity measures is one of the most crucial challenges for small businesses as well as global conglomerates. However, business managers and IT-admins can keep themselves abreast of the latest happenings in the field to anticipate any cyber attack on their organization to some extent. The following headlines have been written keeping the same purpose in mind
Phishing emails are all over the place, and the pandemic only made things worse. If you have been deferring that subscription to email security services, now is the time to get one! The adversaries are out there launching newer and more sophisticated cyberattacks, and your system might be the next one. The following news headlines shall help convince an unsuspecting user to start investing in cybersecurity tools
Cybersecurity is a dynamic domain, and our ignorance fuels the attacks and malicious schemes of adversaries. Learning about cybersecurity has become crucial in today’s times, and these headlines will give you some idea about what goes on out there and how you can keep your information assets safe from threat actors.
The cyber domain is live with news of data breaches, security patches, zero day vulnerabilities, among other cyber attacks but ensuring cybersecurity comes with the strenuous task of investing in phishing prevention measures. Despite this, we can always check on the latest cybersecurity trends and stay prepared for such an incident at a personal level. Here is the list of the latest updates from the cyber world from this past week.
While on the one hand, the advent of newer technologies is a boon for us all; on the other, it also gives cyber adversaries the upper hand many times, as they also get to improve their skill sets to launch all sorts of cyberattacks worldwide – which is why it is crucial to stay abreast of the latest cyber updates such as given below, which can help professionals and regular consumers of technology alike mitigate these cyber threats in the future.
In-depth knowledge of cyberattacks is humanly impossible to acquire unless one takes it up as a profession. But the least we can do is stay abreast of the recent hacks, for ‘just-in-case’ situations when the knowledge of the attack might prove to be our rescuer and help prevent phishing attacks!
It’s been awhile since we’ve seen an iPhone scam. Maybe that’s why it’s making the rounds again. According to an article on Scamicide, “A scam is appearing on Facebook and other social media where you are asked to like a promotion found on your Facebook page where you are told that merely by completing a survey and sharing a link with your friends, you will receive a free iPhone12. Of course, you are not going to get a free iPhone 12 in exchange for merely completing a survey and sharing a link with your friends. What you are going to get when you complete this particular survey, which requires you to provide your cell phone number, is a cramming charge on your cell phone bill for a text messaging service for which you have unwittingly signed up. As for your friends, if they click on the link that you have enabled them to receive, they will end up being defrauded as well.” If it sounds too good to be true…
How low do you have to be to direct a phishing scam at people who are starving? Pretty low, but apparently that’s what’s been happening.
According to an online source, “Food insecurity has long been an issue. Vulnerable populations have been hit especially hard during COVID-19. While countless individuals and organizations have stepped up to help fill the need, others have ventured to exploitation. For example, this phishing scam: a friend of a friend sends you a link through Facebook or What’s App. It offers free help. Sometimes it mentions something about food grants from places like Whole Foods, Walmart, Target. Other times there are promises of coupons or giveaways. But the common thing is that there is always a link.” And of course, the link is a scam. Some people have no heart. (more…)
Waiting on a package from somewhere? Be careful, it could be a scam called the “waiting package” scam. How original.
According to the US Federal Trade Commission, “The messages are coming from scammers. In some cases, they’re targeted at college students. In that version, scammers text returning students to say there’s a package waiting for them — sometimes claiming it’s been waiting since last spring, when many students had to go home from campus quickly.” Don’t click that link.
If you don’t know what a “car wrap” is, it’s a company that pays people to drive their car around “wrapped” in a company advertisement for a fee. Seems like pretty easy money. Which is probably why scammers decided to turn it into a scam.
Beware of photo sharing messages from Google. It’s a scam according to the Better Business Bureau.
From the BBB, “You get an email or text message that appears to come from Google Photo. Someone is sharing an album of photos with you. To view the photos, you just need to click the link. The message looks so real! It may use a convincing URL, which has been created by Google’s goo.gl URL shortened to appear to be an official Google domain name. The catch? There is no photo album. It’s a phishing con.”
Who are the most targeted brands for scams? Microsoft, Apple and Amazon. Today we have a scam to tell you about for all three. First, Outlook.
The interesting thing about this scam, is the tact the scammers took. “Out are the implied threats, the exclamation points (!!!) and the money ($$$) you might lose if you don’t act right now; in are the happy and unexceptionable ‘here’s a problem that you can fix all by yourself without waiting for IT to help you’ messages of a sort that many companies are using these days to reduce support queuing times.” You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
Look here, another Amazon phishing scam, this one courtesy of Scamicide. From the article, “The latest Amazon phishing scam starts with an email that appears to come from Amazon when you do not have any email security service, informing you that your accounts have been locked due to suspicious activity. You are prompted to click on a link to verify your account within 24 hours or risk having your account permanently shut down.”
What’s old is new again. And what is it that’s new again? The venerable old jury duty scam. Apparently, it’s making the rounds again, so be on the lookout.
According to Scamicide, this is how it works. “Generally, the scam starts with a telephone call that you receive purportedly from a law enforcement officer informing you that you have failed to appear for jury duty and that a warrant has been issued for your arrest. You are told, however, that you can avoid arrest and greater fines by purchasing gift cards and then sending photographs of the gift cards to the phony law enforcement officer to prove that they have been purchased. You are then told that you should then mail the gift cards to the local Clerk of Court’s office.” Gift cards? Really?
After 89 years, the Washington Redskins are losing their team name. But, that’s not the only thing that got lost this week. So, too, did people’s money who tried to purchase the suddenly-hard-to-find merchandise.
According to Scamicide, “the termination of the old name and the refusal of major retailers such as Amazon, Walmart and Target to sell Redskins jerseys, caps and other merchandise carrying the old name and logo has created a demand by many people seeking to purchase the soon to be rare merchandise with the old name and logo. While there are legitimate sellers of these items, scammers have also sprung into action and have set up websites offering the merchandise at bargain prices. Of course, these bargain prices are no bargain because after you order the merchandise online, the merchandise never comes.” Maybe you should wait to buy a new jersey.
Amazon Prime users beware. There’s a scam out there and it’s direct right at you. According to Tech Radar, “The scammers target victims via an automated telephone call claiming that they have opened an Amazon Prime account and that they should ‘press one’ to cancel the transaction. However, doing so will connect the call to a fraudster posing as an Amazon customer service representative.