The FBI has recently warned of a prolific smishing campaign (think phishing, but through text messages) that uses road toll collection as a pretext to trick victims into handing over their personal information and money. This scam, which has been ongoing since March 2024 and has already been spotted in at least three states, uses […]
We wrote about the dangers of “SIM Swapping” back in September of 2018, and now the term is making headlines again. This time with a somewhat happy ending, with the suspect facing a potential five-year prison sentence and a hefty fine for altering the SIM card data of customers. Let’s quickly review what SIM swapping is […]
Tax season is here, and while it might mean a sweet refund, it also means scammers are out in force trying to steal your hard-earned cash. Often, these scams first come in the form of phishing emails and social engineering. Here’s a list of popular scams and how to spot them this tax season: Unclaimed […]
As we gear up for a season of cheer and gift-giving, let’s be aware of the sneaky little grinches who are trying to steal your holiday spirit (and your hard-earned money) with the “gift card draining scam.” Gift card draining is a term used to describe when scammers steal money by altering barcodes or replacing […]
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a nationwide collaboration between government and industry to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity. This year the overarching theme, set forth by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), is Secure Our World. The theme promotes behavioral change across the nation with a particular focus on how individuals, […]
In our December 2022 issue, we discussed the emerging AI technology ChatGPT. Later in our July 2023 issue, we wrote about how cybercriminals were leveraging AI to circumvent phishing filters, write malware, or weaponize trusted AI technologies. This month we highlight how cybercriminals have further hijacked these rising technologies for no good on the dark web—a part […]
In December 2022 our CISO Update discussed the emerging AI technology, Chat GPT. Now only seven months later Chat GPT and dozens of other consumer AI apps are readily available and widely used. This game-changing technology has hit the consumer market for designers, writers, coders, and content creators with staggering speed. From early on, cybersecurity experts have […]
The frontman for the Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan, was in the news recently after revealing he paid a ransom when a hacker stole the band’s songs and threatened to leak them. The amount of the ransomware payment was not released. In the band’s view, the leak could have devastated the projected sales of their upcoming […]
First coined by security expert Brian Krebs in 2011, “juice jacking” occurs when mobile devices are compromised by using free, publicly available USB power charging stations often found in airports, hotels, and shopping malls. This month the FBI released a PSA via Twitter about avoiding these free stations. Bad actors have figured out ways to use and […]
With an average cost to businesses of $5 million per breach, it’s no surprise that the FBI has named business email compromise (BEC) as a critical multibillion-dollar scam. Earlier this month, a prominent email security firm reported an 81% increase in BEC attacks between the first and second half of 2022. And the truly shocking […]