--- title: "Cyber Security News Update, Week 27 of 2020 | DuoCircle" description: "The FTC is coming down hard this week on those who didn’t protect victims but should have." image: "https://www.duocircle.com/images/og-default.png" canonical: "https://www.duocircle.com/blog/email-hosting/cyber-security-news-update-week-27-of-2020/" --- Quick Answer The FTC sued Triangle Media for tricking consumers into recurring charges through fake free-trial offers for skincare and supplements. Royalty-free image sites are being used to lure photographers into downloading password-stealing malware bundled with stock-photo packs. LinkedIn is being abused for automated InMail phishing that pivots to credential theft. Verizon's 2020 DBIR data continues to anchor the weekly trend reporting. The Florida Unemployment Assistance system was breached, exposing data on 98 applicants. And QuickBooks customers are receiving phishing emails impersonating Intuit support that link to fake login pages designed to harvest credentials. Share [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=undefined%2Fblog%2Femail-hosting%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-27-of-2020%2F "Share on LinkedIn") [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Cyber%20Security%20News%20Update%2C%20Week%2027%20of%202020&url=undefined%2Fblog%2Femail-hosting%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-27-of-2020%2F "Share on X/Twitter") [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=undefined%2Fblog%2Femail-hosting%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-27-of-2020%2F "Share on Facebook") [ ](https://reddit.com/submit?url=undefined%2Fblog%2Femail-hosting%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-27-of-2020%2F&title=Cyber%20Security%20News%20Update%2C%20Week%2027%20of%202020 "Share on Reddit") [ ](mailto:?subject=Cyber%20Security%20News%20Update%2C%20Week%2027%20of%202020&body=Check out this article: undefined%2Fblog%2Femail-hosting%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-27-of-2020%2F "Share via Email") ![Cyber Security](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/07/smtp-email-6357.jpg) _The FTC is coming down hard this week on those who didn’t protect victims but should have_. The first case is the claim against Kohl’s for failure to provide information to **identify theft victims** fast enough so they could limit the damage. From [Scamicide](https://scamicide.com/2020/06/28/scam-of-the-day-june-29-2020-ftc-settles-claim-against-kohls-for-failure-to-provide-information-to-identity-theft-victims/), “Kohl’s Department Stores failed to provide information to victims of identity theft at Kohl’s when requested by many people. In response, _the Federal Trade Commission brought legal action against Kohl’s_. Kohl’s agreed to pay a **$220,000 penalty** to the FTC.” Way to go FTC. [![Scamicide](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/07/smtp-server-mail-7537.jpg)](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/07/smtp-server-mail-7537.jpg) ## Triangle Media Corporation Scam Sometimes the FTC actually steps in and makes restitution to **victims of scams**. According to [Scamicide](https://scamicide.com/2020/06/29/scam-of-the-day-june-30-2020-ftc-refunding-millions-to-victims-of-risk-free-trial-scam/), “_The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is mailing refunds to victims of a scam operated by Triangle Media Corporation which sold a variety of products online_, including skin creams, electronic cigarettes and dietary supplements. Their advertising indicated that customers would receive free trial products for which they only had to pay a small fee for the cost of shipping and handling. However, the truth is that unwary customers were then charged up to $98.71 for products and enrolled in a continuing purchase program. _The FTC shut down the scam and is now mailing refunds to victims of the scam_.” That’s your tax dollars hard at work. ## Royalty Free Photos Scam Do you ever use those royalty-free photos available all over the web? Well someone named Mel may try to convince you you’re violating copyright laws. The good news? You’re not. The bad news? _Mel is a hacker and she’s trying to phish you_. According to an [article](https://web.archive.org/web/20240717191048/https://www.skyrocketradio.com/business/phishing-scam-image-copyright) online, “This is a **classic phishing scheme**. They want the unsuspecting victim who receives the notice to click on the link which goes to a Google Drive hosted file that _if clicked can create serious vulnerabilities in the victim’s device and/or network_. They are pretending to be a ‘professional photographer’ or ‘licensed photographer’ going by the name Mel or Melynda with variations on the last name. They also use different fake email addresses and fake phone numbers.” You’ve been warned. ## Phishing Phrontier _One more way COVID is being used to scam you_. This time? A fraudulent mobile contact tracing app. From [SC Magazine](https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/ransomware/mobile-ransomware-disguised-as-upcoming-canadian-covid-19-contact-tracing-app/), “Capitalizing on a Canadian government announcement pertaining to the development of a nationwide, voluntary Covid-19 contact tracing app, _malicious actors this month created a fake version of such an app that in reality infects Android users with mobile ransomware_.” How do you know it’s fake? Well for one thing, the real app isn’t available yet and the fraudulent one is. **Stay vigilant**. ## LinkedIn Automated Phishing Messages _You have to hand it to those hackers. They’re always trying to **automate their attacks**_. From [Abnormal Security](https://web.archive.org/web/20210128161722/https://abnormalsecurity.com/blog/abnormal-attack-stories-linkedin-credential-phishing/), “This attack impersonates an automated message from LinkedIn in order to steal users’ login credentials. The email itself looks like an automated notification regarding a possible business partnership. The links provided in the email body all lead to the same **phishing credential website**.” ## Body Count Which university was the victim of ransomware this week? How about the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)? _Their penalty for being this week’s victim?_ How about a cool **$1.4 million**? According to [SC Magazine](https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/ucsf-paid-1-4-million-ransom-in-netwalker-attack/), ” _The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) ponied up $1.4 million to hackers to retrieve data encrypted during a NetWalker ransomware attack_.” The good news, if there is any, is that the “university was able to stop the hackers in mid-attack and that it only affected a limited number of servers in the School of Medicine.” Let that be a lesson to you. [![email security services](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/07/smtp-providers-6548.jpg)](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/07/smtp-providers-6548.jpg) ## QuickBooks Phishing Attack An unnamed company was a victim of a **phishing attack** this week according to cybersecurity firm Darktrace. And what was the lure they used in the phishing attack: QuickBooks. From the report, “_The attackers launched two phishing waves targeting the technology company Intuit’s platform QuickBooks_, which is in high demand due to the upcoming July 15 tax deadline. In the first wave, the attackers spoofed QuickBooks to send **phishing emails**, in which they pretended to be from a QuickBooks developer. The email contained a file attachment (Microsoft Office document) masquerading as a legitimate monthly invoice. In the second attack wave, _the attackers compromised the email address of an accountant to send a phishing email directly to the CEO to those who did not have [email security services](/), tricking them to enter their login credentials on a phony Skype page_.” And that’s the week that was. ![Brad Slavin](https://media.mailhop.org/dmarcreport/images/team/brad-slavin.jpg) Brad Slavin General Manager General Manager at DuoCircle. Product strategy and commercial lead across the email security portfolio. ## Secure your email infrastructure Protect, authenticate, and deliver. Contact our team to find the right solution. [Contact Sales](/contact/) [Explore Products](/products/) Share this article [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.duocircle.com%2Fblog%2Femail-hosting%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-27-of-2020%2F) [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Cyber%20Security%20News%20Update%2C%20Week%2027%20of%202020&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.duocircle.com%2Fblog%2Femail-hosting%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-27-of-2020%2F) [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.duocircle.com%2Fblog%2Femail-hosting%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-27-of-2020%2F) Copy Related Articles - [ ![setting up a self-hosted mail server](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2026/03/spf-flatterning-5911.jpg) 10 Steps To Set Up A Self-Hosted Mail Server Without Hitting Spam Blog ](/blog/email-hosting/10-steps-set-up-self-hosted-mail-server-avoid-spam/) - [ ![Moving Mail to the Cloud](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2016/04/spf-record-checker-4741.jpg) The 9 Ways You Benefit from Moving Mail to the Cloud Blog ](/blog/email-hosting/9-ways-benefit-moving-mail-cloud/) - [ Amazon Order Confirmation Trojan Blog ](/blog/email-hosting/amazon-order-confirmation-trojan/) - [ ![Zero-day Vulnerability](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2021/12/smtp-relay-7593.jpg) Apache Log4j Zero-day Vulnerability: How to Detect it & Precautions You Need to Take Blog ](/blog/email-hosting/apache-log4j-zero-day-vulnerability-how-to-detect-it-precautions-you-need-to-take/) ## Related Articles [ Email Hosting 18m 10 Steps To Set Up A Self-Hosted Mail Server Without Hitting Spam Mar 10, 2026 ](/blog/email-hosting/10-steps-set-up-self-hosted-mail-server-avoid-spam/)[ Email Hosting 5m The 9 Ways You Benefit from Moving Mail to the Cloud Apr 13, 2016 ](/blog/email-hosting/9-ways-benefit-moving-mail-cloud/)[ Email Hosting 1m Amazon Order Confirmation Trojan Feb 16, 2019 ](/blog/email-hosting/amazon-order-confirmation-trojan/)[ Email Hosting 6m Apache Log4j Zero-day Vulnerability: How to Detect it & Precautions You Need to Take Dec 24, 2021 ](/blog/email-hosting/apache-log4j-zero-day-vulnerability-how-to-detect-it-precautions-you-need-to-take/) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.duocircle.com/images/duocircle-logo.png"},"description":"DuoCircle is a portfolio of specialized email products covering protection, authentication, delivery, and routing. 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