Data Breach News, Consumer Alerts
August 16, 2024
952 views 2 mins 0

NationalPublicData.com Hack Exposes a Nation’s Data

Questions continue to abound following a data leak that reportedly contained 2.9 billion records with Americans’ personal information. Investigative journalist Brian Krebs summarizes what is known about the data in the breach, its authenticity, and the company behind the data. HaveIBeenOwned.com’s Troy Hunt analyzed the leaked data and found it is a somewhat disparate collection of consumer and […]

Data Breach News, Consumer Alerts, News
August 11, 2024
977 views 5 mins 0

2.9 Billion Records With Personal Info About US, Canada, and UK Persons Was Leaked on a Hacking Forum; The Data Owner Has Been Silent

If verified, one of the largest breaches ever of personal information of Americans, Canadians, and UK persons went up for sale on a hacking forum on April 7. While researchers and analysts watched and started investigating the listing, the background checks firm allegedly responsible for the data remained silent, neither confirming nor refuting the claimed […]

Consumer Alerts
May 28, 2024
986 views 2 mins 0

New FTC Data Shed Light on Companies Most Frequently Impersonated by Scammers

From the Federal Trade Commission: New data from the Federal Trade Commission shows that Best Buy/Geek Squad, Amazon, and PayPal are the companies people report scammers impersonate most often. A newly released data spotlight shows that consumers in 2023 submitted about 52,000 reports about scammers impersonating Best Buy or its Geek Squad tech support brand, followed by […]

Consumer Alerts
April 15, 2024
1134 views 55 secs 0

Crickets from Chirp Systems in Smart Lock Key Leak

Brian Krebs reports that the U.S. government is warning that “smart locks” securing entry to an estimated 50,000 dwellings nationwide contain hard-coded credentials that can be used to remotely open any of the locks. “The lock’s maker Chirp Systems remains unresponsive, even though it was first notified about the critical weakness in March 2021,: Krebs reports. “Meanwhile, […]

Data Breach News, Consumer Alerts, Legal News
April 02, 2024
519 views 8 mins 0

Former Hospital Administrator Pleads Guilty in Identity Theft Scheme That Spanned Three Decades

Victim Falsely Prosecuted and Spent Nearly Two Years in Jail and Mental Hospital A former Iowa hospital administrator who lived under a false identity for more than 30 years and caused the false imprisonment of his victim pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Matthew David Keirans, age 58, from Hartland, Wisconsin, […]

Consumer Alerts, Malware Ransomware, New Threats, News
February 15, 2024
579 views 51 secs 0

Cybercriminals are stealing Face ID scans to break into mobile banking accounts

The Register reports: Cybercriminals are targeting iOS users with malware that steals Face ID scans to break into and pilfer money from bank accounts – thought to be a world first. A Chinese-speaking cybercrime group, dubbed GoldFactory by Group-IB’s researchers, started distributing trojanized smartphone apps in June 2023, however, the latest GoldPickaxe version has been […]

Consumer Alerts, Legal News
January 26, 2024
488 views 38 secs 0

California Privacy Protection Agency Launches New Website with Privacy Rights Resources

Robinson + Cole informs us that the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) has opened a new website at https://privacy.ca.gov/ with resources for California residents to help them understand their rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The resources include how to submit a complaint against a business that has violated consumer rights under the […]

Consumer Alerts
January 25, 2024
1082 views 59 secs 0

Stolen credentials are big business

Panda Security has a blog post on phishing and how it so profitable that criminals don’t always use stolen credentials themselves — they just sell them to other criminals. From the blog post: Phishing attacks have one purpose – to steal your usernames and passwords. Cybercriminals use carefully crafted messages to trick you into visiting a […]