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Scammers are cashing in on the cryptocurrency craze and targeting everyday people in the process. In this episode, we're joined by FBI Special Agent David Paniwozik for an insider look at how fraudsters are using cryptocurrency to steal money through fake investments, impersonation scams, and high-pressure tactics. Learn what to watch for, how these schemes work, and how to protect yourself in the ever-evolving world of digital scams.For additional information and resources, visit OCP's website at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/ocp. Visit the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. Have a question or suggestion for a future episode? Send an email to consumerconnection@montgomerycountymd.gov.
With cryptocurrency's increasing popularity, it's crucial to be aware of the prevalence of crypto scams. Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that uses cryptography to secure transactions. However, the rise of crypto has also led to a surge in scams. It's important to stay alert to spot these scams and avoid falling victim to them. Links: Report any crypto scams you encounter to any or all of the agencies below: https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/ https://www.cftc.gov/complaint https://www.sec.gov/submit-tip-or-complaint/tips-complaints-resources/report-suspected-securities-fraud-or-wrongdoing https://www.ic3.gov/Home/Index Check out TCU University for financial education tips and resources! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! Learn more about Triangle Credit Union Transcript: Welcome to Money Tip Tuesday from the Making Money Personal podcast. One important thing to note about cryptocurrency is the U.S. government does not back it. If your crypto account gets hacked or the company that provides storage for your wallet goes out of business, your money is gone. The government has no obligation to step in and help you get your money back. In comparison, U.S. dollars deposited into an FDIC or NCUA-insured account are safe. Those coverages insure deposits up to $250,000 in the event of a financial institution failure. That said, it's important not to fall for a cryptocurrency scam. Here are some common scams and their warning signs. First, suppose someone you're considering doing business with only accepts cryptocurrency payments. That should be a red flag, especially if the company demands that you send the payment before receiving any product or service. A common crypto scam is an investment scam. If someone asks you to invest in a new crypto coin that guarantees quick and significant returns, it's most likely a scam. Crypto investment scams can come in many forms. A scammer might pose as an investment manager promising to make you rich if you buy cryptocurrency and transfer it to their account. They might even create a fake website to trick you further. It's also known that scammers have tried to impersonate celebrities, offering to multiply any cryptocurrency you send them. Scammers will also go on dating apps to find their targets. They might seem interested in you, but it's a red flag if they start talking about crypto and try to get you to invest with them. Rug pull scams are also very common with cryptocurrency. Rug pull scams are when investment scammers pump up a new NFT or coin to raise funds. Once they get the money that people invested, they disappear. The way these "investments" are coded prevents people from being able to sell or trade them, making them effectively worthless. Another crypto scam is when fraudsters impersonate a business or the government. They might say they're from Amazon, EZ-Pass, or even your financial institution and claim that there's fraud on your account or your money is at risk. They'll say that to fix the issue, you have to send them crypto. Don't click links or respond to their messages; it is a scam. One last crypto scam is blackmail. Scammers might contact you saying that they have compromising photos, videos, audio, or information about you. If you don't send them crypto, they'll send it all to your friends, family, place of work, and school. Don't do it and report it to the FBI immediately. If you encounter a crypto scam, there are a few things you should and shouldn't do. First of all, don't engage with the scammer. Many of these scams are mass messages that the scammer sends out and are not explicitly targeted at you. Responding to the scammer lets them know you exist and can be targeted for their scam. What you should do is ignore the message. You can also report the fraud to multiple places, including the Federal Trade Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Internet Crime Complaint Center, and the cryptocurrency exchange company you encountered the scam on. Links to all of these resources will be available in the show notes. If there are any other tips or topics you'd like us to cover, let us know at tcupodcast@trianglecu.org. Also, remember to like and follow our Making Money Personal Facebook and Instagram to share your thoughts. Finally, remember to look for our sponsor, Triangle Credit Union, on Facebook and LinkedIn. Thanks for listening to today's Money Tip Tuesday. Check out our other tips and episodes on the Making Money Personal podcast.
GDP Script/ Top Stories for March 15th Publish Date: March 15th PRE-ROLL: From the BG AD Group Studio Welcome to the Gwinnett Daily Post Podcast. Today is Saturday, March 15th and Happy Birthday to Bobby Bonds ***03.15.25 - BIRTHDAY – BOBBY BONDS*** I’m Peyton Spurlock and here are your top stories presented by Gwinnett KIA Mall of Georgia. Georgia Gwinnett College, Georgia Film Academy Hosting Event For Aspiring Film and TV Students Cumming man sentenced to life in prison for 2015 murder Gwinnett Burger Week Set To Celebrate 10th Year All of this and more is coming up on the Gwinnett Daily Post podcast, and if you are looking for community news, we encourage you to listen daily and subscribe! Break 1: 07.14.22 KIA MOG STORY 1: Georgia Gwinnett College, Georgia Film Academy Hosting Event For Aspiring Film and TV Students Georgia Gwinnett College and the Georgia Film Academy will host “Behind the Lens: Creative Minds and Successful Careers” on March 18, 6-8 p.m., at GGC. This free event explores careers in film, TV, live streaming, and new media, featuring panels with industry leaders from Disney, Assembly Studios, and GGC alumni. Attendees can participate in interactive demonstrations with professional equipment used on Georgia film sets. The event highlights GGC’s Cinema and Media Arts Production program and GFA’s role in training students for careers in Georgia’s booming film industry, with alumni contributing to major productions like *Stranger Things* and *Wakanda Forever*. STORY 2: Cumming man sentenced to life in prison for 2015 murder Jeffry Emerson Moulder, 30, was convicted of malice and felony murder for the 2015 killing of 21-year-old Samuel Waters, whose body was never found. Moulder strangled and dismembered Waters near Lake Lanier in a bid to save his marriage and avoid child support. He later confessed to multiple people, including his second wife, who reported him in 2021 after he strangled her during an altercation. Despite the lack of a body, evidence and testimony, including cadaver dog findings, led to Moulder’s conviction. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole, bringing closure to Waters’ family after 10 years. STORY 3: Gwinnett Burger Week Set To Celebrate 10th Year Gwinnett Burger Week returns March 17-23, celebrating its 10th anniversary with exclusive $10 chef-crafted burgers at 23 locally-owned restaurants. Highlights include unique creations like the "That’s My Jam" burger at Old Fountain Tavern and the "Birria Crunch Smash Burger" at Jose’s Birria & Burgers. Diners can use the Gwinnett Burger Week Digital Pass to check in at restaurants, earn points for prizes, and vote for their favorite burger. Those visiting 10+ spots will join the Burger Week Hall of Fame. Explore Gwinnett invites the community to enjoy this beloved culinary tradition. We have opportunities for sponsors to get great engagement on these shows. Call 770.874.3200 for more info. We’ll be right back Break 2: STORY 4: Georgia Gwinnett College to host Preview Day March 22 Georgia Gwinnett College will host a Preview Day on March 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., offering prospective students and families a chance to explore campus life. Attendees can meet faculty, staff, and students, tour the campus and housing, and learn about academic programs, student life, and admissions. The event highlights GGC’s vibrant community, including clubs and services. Registration is available at www.ggc.edu/PreviewDays. STORY 5: St. Patrick's Day Events Slated For This Weekend St. Patrick’s Day 2025 falls on a Monday, but celebrations kick off early with events throughout the weekend. Highlights include Saturday festivities like Suwanee’s Shamrock 5K and Beer Fest, St. Paddy’s on Perry in Lawrenceville, and Buford’s St. Patrick’s Day Festival and Beer Crawl. Sunday wraps up with “Shake Your Shamrock” at the Mall of Georgia, featuring Irish dance and family activities. For details, visit www.exploregwinnett.org. Break 3: STORY 6: BEWARE: FBI Atlanta Reports High Number Of Complaints Regarding Peach Pass Smishing Scheme The FBI reports a surge in smishing scams targeting Peach Pass users, with 1,573 complaints in March alone, compared to 1,720 over the previous 14 months. These fake texts claim unpaid tolls, tricking victims into sharing sensitive information or money. Reported losses total $3,643.42, though actual victims may be higher. Residents are urged to report scams to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, verify accounts via Peach Pass’s official site, avoid clicking suspicious links, and secure personal and financial information if compromised. STORY 7: Senior Living Community Benton House Receives Awards Benton House Senior Living has earned multiple Customer Experience Awards from Pinnacle Quality Insight, recognizing excellence in areas like cleanliness, communication, dining, and overall satisfaction. This places them in the top 15% of care providers nationwide. Executive Director Christine Sokol credits the honor to feedback from residents and families, highlighting their commitment to quality care. With locations in Sugar Hill and Grayson, Benton House also holds Great Place to Work status, further solidifying its reputation as a top-tier senior living community. We’ll have closing comments after this Break 4: Ingles Markets 1 Signoff – Thanks again for hanging out with us on today’s Gwinnett Daily Post Podcast. If you enjoy these shows, we encourage you to check out our other offerings, like the Cherokee Tribune Ledger podcast, the Marietta Daily Journal, or the Community Podcast for Rockdale Newton and Morgan Counties. Read more about all our stories and get other great content at www.gwinnettdailypost.com Did you know over 50% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly? Giving you important news about our community and telling great stories are what we do. Make sure you join us for our next episode and be sure to share this podcast on social media with your friends and family. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home Briefing and be sure to like, follow, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by the BG Podcast Network Show Sponsors: www.ingles-markets.com www.kiamallofga.com #NewsPodcast #CurrentEvents #TopHeadlines #BreakingNews #PodcastDiscussion #PodcastNews #InDepthAnalysis #NewsAnalysis #PodcastTrending #WorldNews #LocalNews #GlobalNews #PodcastInsights #NewsBrief #PodcastUpdate #NewsRoundup #WeeklyNews #DailyNews #PodcastInterviews #HotTopics #PodcastOpinions #InvestigativeJournalism #BehindTheHeadlines #PodcastMedia #NewsStories #PodcastReports #JournalismMatters #PodcastPerspectives #NewsCommentary #PodcastListeners #NewsPodcastCommunity #NewsSource #PodcastCuration #WorldAffairs #PodcastUpdates #AudioNews #PodcastJournalism #EmergingStories #NewsFlash #PodcastConversations See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Toll text scams are increasing, with a 900% rise in searches for "toll road scams" in three months. The prevalence of these scams has quadrupled between January and February. Hackers bypass security features on devices, prompting users to respond to harmful links. Reporting these messages provides temporary relief, as scammers quickly shift to new numbers. The FBI documented over 2,000 complaints and advises filing reports with the Internet Crime Complaint Center and deleting suspicious texts. The Federal Trade Commission warns against clicking unsolicited links. Scammers acquire phone numbers and domains in bulk, sending millions of messages tied to various state toll systems. Their main goal is to collect personal information for identity theft and unauthorized transactions. Caution is essential; do not click or respond to toll scam texts and delete them immediately.Learn more on this news visit us at: https://greyjournal.net/news/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Artificial Intelligence, commonly known as AI, has permeated our way of life. It feels like every tech corporation is pushing their latest AI tool or feature to help make your life better. Unfortunately, with AI going mostly unchecked, it can easily become a detrimental tool for the wrong people. Deepfakes in particular can be manipulative and dangerous. Here's what you need to know about deepfakes and how to combat them. Links: Report deepfakes with the Internet Crime Complaint Center Check out TCU University for financial education tips and resources! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! Learn more about Triangle Credit Union Transcript: Welcome to Money Tip Tuesday from the Making Money Personal podcast. If you don't already know, deepfakes are videos, images, or audio of someone or something that has been altered by AI. These deepfakes can be used to portray a person doing something that they haven't done and or wouldn't have done. This can easily be a conduit to spread disinformation. For example, deepfakes can be made of politicians to make it seem like they said something or did something, when in reality it was created by AI. The deepfake can make the politician say something that might be controversial or visually put the politician in a compromising position. This can be devasting to their campaign, especially if people believe it is real. Similarly, celebrities have been mimicked by deep fakes. Some of it is innocent, such as de-aging an actor for a movie. However, celebrity deepfakes have been used to endorse products or politicians without the celebrity's consent. You don't have to be famous to be a victim of deepfakes. If scammers can get a recording of your voice, they can make you say whatever they want with AI. They can then call people that you know and talk to them with your voice. Scammers use this technique to then scam your loved ones into thinking you're in some kind of trouble and need money. Similarly to politicians and celebrities, your likeness can be recreated with deepfakes. If someone has images or videos of your face, they can make a deepfake of you doing whatever they want. Fortunately, there are ways to decrease the likelihood of having a deepfake made of you, or at the very least make it more difficult for scammers to create one of you. Be careful with what you share online and who you share it with. Scammers need images, videos, or audio of you to create a deepfake. The more media they have of you, the easier it is to make a realistic deepfake. Only share your photos and videos with people you trust. If you use social media, limit who can see your posts. You can also watermark your media which makes it harder to make a deepfake and also makes it easier to trace who created it. If you find deepfake content of yourself or someone you know, report it on the platform it's hosted on. You should also report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. If you are the victim of a deepfake, you may want to consult legal counsel and find out what your next steps are. If there are any other tips or topics you'd like us to cover, let us know at tcupodcast@trianglecu.org. Also, remember to like and follow our Making Money Personal Facebook and Instagram to share your thoughts. Finally, remember to look for our sponsor, Triangle Credit Union, on Facebook and LinkedIn. Thanks for listening to today's Money Tip Tuesday. Check out our other tips and episodes on the Making Money Personal podcast.
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Virginia. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Washington. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Vermont. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Utah. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on South Carolina. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
Content warning: stalking, catfishing, fraud, narcissistic abuse, gaslighting, self-harm, suicidal ideation, and criminal threats. As shared in part one of her story, Jordan is a mother and survivor from Florida. She originally reached out to the Broken Cycle media team after hearing similarities between her journey and the journeys of the women from season 20 of Something Was Wrong. Jordan was compelled to share her experiences surviving catfishing, fraud, abuse, and stalking, in order to offer awareness and community to others, as Season 20 previously did for her. The Broken Cycle Media team is immensely grateful for Jordan's transparency and desire to continue our mission to support other survivors. Internet Crime Complaint Center: https://www.ic3.gov/ For additional resources and a list of related non-profit organizations, please visit http://somethingwaswrong.com/resources Thank you again to Miracle Made for sponsoring this episode. Don't forget to go to TryMiracle.com/WCN and use the code WCN to claim your free three piece towel set and save over 40% off.
Welcome to The Protectors Podcast. In this episode, Mike and Mark explore the complex world of romance scams with an expert who knows just how harmful these schemes can be. With tips to stay safe and insights into the emotional toll of these schemes, learn to protect yourself and your loved ones from holiday heartbreak and financial loss in this important episode.The Protectors Podcast - Protecting What Matters MostFederal Trade Commission: https://www.ftc.gov/FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center: https://www.ic3.gov/Lifevibe.org: https://www.lifevibe.us/_______________________________IAFCI CONTACT INFO:IAFCI Website: https://iafci.org/Phone: 916-939-5000Advertising Opportunities and Guest Appearance: IAFCIProtectorspodcast@gmail.com
In this compelling episode of "Widowed 2 Soon," host Michelle Bader Ebersole sits down with Dee Parks to discuss the harrowing experience of falling victim to an elaborate romance scam. Dee, a widow from Northern Illinois, shares her poignant story of grief, manipulation, and eventual empowerment, aiming to raise awareness and support for others in similar situations. Listeners will hear first-hand about Dee's encounter with a scammer she met on a Christian dating site, who used emotional subterfuge, religious manipulation, and sophisticated financial schemes to exploit her vulnerability. From false identities and broken promises to the crucial moment of realization and intervention from family, Dee recounts every painful detail. To join our podcast listener community send me a message here, thank you! To learn more about Grief Recovery click here Internet Crime Complaint Center, go here to report if you have been scammed If you have been touched by this podcast, please consider donating to the non-profit we are under, Widow Goals. In addition to this podcast, Widow Goals provides Grief Recovery Classes, Social Media support, resources, and local and soon-to-be national events. You can give tax-free here; thank you! Click Here to join Live Well with Michelle Facebook Group Click Here to apply to be a guest on Widowed 2 Soon Follow Michelle on TikTok Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/widowed2soon_/ https://www.instagram.com/widowgoals See our videos on Youtube Subscribe to our YouTube Channel Email us widowed2soon@widowgoals.org Nonprofit Widow Goals
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Louisiana. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
"My partner and I have $4.75 million saved, earn $250,000 a year, and only spend about half that. When can I quit working?" We're answering YOUR questions on this week's Get Ready For The Future Show! With my husband's pension and the 17% we've been investing, is that enough? Do I need a trust if I'm retired and divorced with two adult children? With many seniors getting scammed, how do you protect your clients? And if you've got a question you want answered on the show, call or text 501.381.5228! Or email your question to show@getreadyforthefuture.com! Visit the Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov) for more information about how to protect yourself against cybercrime and to submit a complaint if you or someone you know has been targeted. Originally aired 10/30/2024
Send us a textThink you landed your dream job? A few weeks ago, a very excited young woman contacted Denise Cagan regarding an email she received from Denise's company offering her a very attractive position. The problem was that her company was being impersonated! In this episode, Denise explores how today's increasing reliance on technology has made the job market a prime target for cybercriminals. These constantly evolving threats are having a negative impact on both job seekers and businesses. Want to learn practical advice about the tactics used by online imposters to target individuals seeking new opportunities and companies looking to expand their workforce? Denise shares how to spot red flags in unsolicited job offers, protect your personal information, and verify the legitimacy of opportunities. She also provides useful advice for employers on strengthening online security measures and safeguarding their reputation against impersonation scams. Don't become a victim! Listen now to learn how to navigate the job market safely and effectively. Report suspicious activity to the Internet Crime Complaint Center: https://www.ic3.gov/ About Your Host DCA Virtual Business Support President, Denise Cagan, has been working with small businesses for over 20 years. She has served on the boards of professional organizations such as Business Leaders of Charlotte (BLOC) and the National Association of Women Business Owners Charlotte (NAWBO). Denise is also a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program, which is a program for small businesses that links learning to action for growth-oriented entrepreneurs. Recognized as a facilitator, problem solver, and builder, Denise enjoys speaking to business groups about social media for small businesses and motivating remote and work-from-home (WFH) teams. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Quality Systems Management from James Madison University. With extensive experience in outsourcing solutions that provide administrative, creative, marketing, and website support, she is able to help other small businesses grow and thrive. Connect with Denise DCA Virtual Business Support website. View and listen to Podcasts with Denise Cagan. LinkedIn
This week is the last episode of our mini-series with Little Green Light about how to develop a last-minute year-end fundraising appeal! Then I share seven cyber security tips your nonprofit ABSOLUTELY needs to implement quickly. Fortunately, all of my tips can be implemented with low-cost and even many free options! In this episode, we mention a few resources you may want to check out! — Find Little Green Light's Free Resources: www.littlegreenlight.com/jenni — Preventing Charity Fraud website: preventcharityfraud.org.uk — The National Cyber Security Centre's Small Charity Guide: ncsc.gov.uk/files/Charity-Guide-v3.pdf — The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center: ic3.gov — Get my once-per-week email newsletter: nonprofitjenni.com/subscribe Produced by Ben Hill Sound Music by Emily Summers ©2024 Nonprofit Jenni. All Rights Reserved.
Vice President Kamala Harris plans to unveil ideas designed to make life easier for small business owners. Her announcement comes as polling continues to give former President Donald Trump the advantage among voters when they're asked who can better handle the economy.The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center saw more than 880,000 complaints last year, a 10% increase from 2022. Dan Ackerman, editor-in-chief of Micro Center News, joins "CBS Mornings" to discuss the rise of these threats.To lose weight, millions of Americans have turned to prescription medications that treat diabetes like Wegovy, Ozempic and others. However, some say they can have serious side effects. CBS News senior investigative consumer correspondent Anna Werner spoke to a Pennsylvania woman who is warning others about rare complications she said she experienced from a weight loss drug that she says left her fighting for her life.With just two months to go until Election Day, we continue the "Three Meals" series, sitting down with voters over breakfast, lunch and dinner. This time, Caitlin Huey-Burns heads to Florida, a former battleground state that's shifted more conservative in recent years.After nearly two decades representing over 300 of the biggest names in sports, Molly Fletcher has transitioned into a successful keynote speaker and author. She joins "CBS Mornings" to talk about her new book, "Dynamic Drive: The Purpose-Fueled Formula for Sustainable Success."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Louisiana. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Wisconsin. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Mississippi. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Michigan. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will soon convert its tolling system to Open Road Rolling east of Reading and on the Northeast Extension. The Open Road Tolling system will be in place in January 2025. The turnpike was opened in 1940 with a cash collection system, then in the 2000's the EZ pass was added. Craig Shuey, Chief Operating Officer of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, says the Open Road Tolling (OTR) system will be safer for drivers, and will be better for the environment. “When we remove the toll plazas, the 6 or 7 lanes that exist in many of those areas will be shrunk down to a smaller number of lanes, moving the same amount of traffic more efficiently with less, less impervious surface. So, we'll be able to pull up the pavement, refocus the lanes, you know, recede and allow a more natural environment to, to, to be a part of the, of the landscape than all of the buildings and structures that go along with our existing toll plazas, “said Shuey. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) believes the OTR system is what their customers prefer. According to PTC, more than 86 percent of drivers own an EZ pass, indicating a preference for electronic payments. “So, what our customers are telling us is they don't really want to stop anymore. They for a while, they were really, you know, struggling. They weren't carrying cash. So that was becoming a bit of an issue. But by and large, the motoring public wants to keep going to get to this destination. So, what this allows us to do is really shoulder in with the majority of our customers and give them the free-flowing experience that I think they've been looking for, “said Shuey. This summer, PTC has also been focused on warning the public of the rise of Smishing Scams. It's basically a text message claiming to be from PA turnpike. “So, what was happening is you were getting a text to your phone that said, you owe the Pennsylvania Turnpike $8 or something to that effect. And if you pay it now, it will grow to $86. And they give you a, a fake website that looks like the words PA turnpike.com, which is not, but enough to close enough to fool your eyes. And when you click on that and give them your credit card information, they then use your credit card for, for, to make charges that obviously you are not, authorizing, “said Shuey. Those who receive a fraudulent text can file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. That is a site dedicated to sharing information on Internet crimes across law enforcement agenciesSupport WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Massachusetts. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Kentucky. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
Cyberattacks pose growing threat Chris White, the Beacon city administrator, is concerned enough about a cyberattack that he would prefer the city not be mentioned in a story about the threat. For good reason, municipalities are reluctant to present themselves as a target, discuss their security measures or share how they responded to being held hostage by hackers or having data stolen. The City of Newburgh learned in June how disruptive an attack can be. A "network security incident" disabled its ability to process payments for parking tickets, property taxes and services such as sewer and water. Earlier this month, the Goshen school district in Orange County said it had been victimized by a ransomware attack, in which hackers hijack systems and demand payment to restore access. The district said the attack disabled computer, email and phone systems. Every local government and school district, especially smaller ones without the staff and resources to adequately protect themselves, faces this potential for havoc. Along with demands for ransom, hackers could steal sensitive information about residents that is collected by every county, town and village. Earlier this year, the security company Sophos released the results of a survey of 5,000 IT leaders in 14 countries for its annual report, The State of Ransomware in Critical Infrastructure. The survey included 300 school districts and 270 local or state governments; 80 percent of the schools and 69 percent of the municipalities said they had been hit by ransomware demands in the past year. Of those, 62 percent of the schools and 54 percent of the governments paid. Of those who provided numbers, schools reported paying an average of $7.5 million and governments $5.3 million to recover their data. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center last year received nearly 27,000 complaints about cybercrimes in New York state, including online scams and data breaches, an 8 percent increase over 2022. Losses were estimated at $750 million. The most common scam reported nationally are "phishing" emails, which hackers design to resemble official correspondence in an effort to get the recipient to enter log-in information or click links or open attachments that install malicious software that can take control of a computer. These emails are the source of more than 90 percent of cyberattacks, according to the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES). More than 75 percent of organizations say they have been the target of phishing, and more than half of all emails are malicious, according to DHSES. "It is a threat that keeps evolving and growing," said Steve Oscarlece, the acting commissioner for the Dutchess County Office of Central and Information Services (OCIS). "There can be significant financial costs, as well as to their reputations, and the interruption of services." In June, more than 200 people representing over 100 organizations attended an annual cybersecurity summit that Dutchess and Marist College began holding in 2022. The panel discussions included representatives from the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and DHSES, which has an Office of Counter Terrorism and a Cyber Incident Response Team. Attendees also witnessed a mock cyberattack staged by the Office of Counter Terrorism to illustrate how municipalities and organizations can respond. Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT have made phishing attempts harder to identify because they eliminate telltale signs of fraud such as misspellings or grammar errors. "It's made it easier for them to craft emails that look legitimate and are more likely to fool the recipient," said Jacob Morrison, the deputy commissioner for OCIS. At the same time, Morrison said, artificial intelligence is being used by organizations to bolster their defenses and by cybersecurity companies to improve the ability of software to detect attacks. Other countermeasures include educating employees on id...
On this episode of the Best Life Podcast, Tony speaks with Altra Federal Credit Union's Fraud Department Manager Crystal Clark to learn more about recognizing and avoiding potential scams and fraud trying to get at your accounts and your personal information. In their discussion, you'll learn about the rise of imposter scams, what the FBI is calling “The Phantom Hacker Scam,” and the worst kind of stuffing you can experience and that's credential stuffing. Below are some helpful links to learn more and how to recognize and report scams and fraud: Altra Secure ID, Report Fraud to the Federal Trade Commission, Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov)
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Maine. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Indiana. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Minnesota. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Indiana. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Indiana. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https:/reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on North Dakota. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
Hello, and welcome to episode 106 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast, I'm Chris Kirkbride. This week has been yet another busy week for financial crime – the busiest ever – at least I'm no longer ill. Sanctions news brings US action against China for its aid to Russia, and some enforcement action against a sanctions-evader and a member of a sanctioned organisation. In the UK, sanctions designations against senior political figures in Uganda, and updates to a range of sanctions guides. On anti-corruption, the 25th anniversary of GRECO is marked, and the NCA in the UK is judged on the effectiveness of its anti-corruption action. On money laundering, MONEYVAL updates on several European countries' AML/CFT frameworks, and stories from China and Venezuela. The significant fraud news comes in the form of news from Australia on the scale of losses to scams, and the FBI publishes a report on Elder Fraud in the US. There is also a round-up of this week's cyber news. Let's crack on. As usual, I have linked the main stories flagged in the podcast in the description. These are: Attorney-General's Department (Australia), Progressing reforms to Australia's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.Attorney-General's Office (UK), Attorney General's Code of Practice issued under Section 377A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.Australia Competition and Consumer Commission, Scam losses decline, but more work to do as Australians lose $2.7 billion.Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, New laws to protect consumers from cyber criminals come into force in the UK.Europol, Operation Pandora shuts down 12 phone fraud call centres.Eversheds Sutherland, National Security Act of 2024 extends statute of limitations for sanctions violations to 10 years.FBI, Elder fraud reports to FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center rose by 14% in 2023.Hansard, National Crime Agency: Dealing with Corruption (Volume 749: debated on Tuesday 30 April 2024).His Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary and fire and rescue services, Vetting and anti-corruption part 2: How effective is the National Crime Agency at dealing with corruption?Joint Money Laundering Steering Group, Consultation – Part II Sector 18 (Wholesale markets).Joint Money Laundering Steering Group, Consultation April 2024 – Part II Sector 18 (Wholesale markets).MONEYVAL, Poland improved its AML/CFT guidance and feedback for reporting institutions.MONEYVAL, Cyprus improved AML/CFT measures with respect to virtual asset service providers and virtual asset related activities.MONEYVAL, Croatia strengthened its preventive framework to combat money laundering.MONEYVAL, Anti-money laundering and terrorist financing: Lithuania has improved coordination and co-operation, according to new report.National Crime Agency, Gold and art worth millions and linked to crime is forfeited.National Cyber Security Centre, Business email compromise: defending your organisation Guidance.National Cyber Security Centre, CYBERUK Digital Loft: The Future of Cyber Security for Small Organisations (Sign-Up).Pymnts, Venezuelan Opposition Politician Warns of Crypto Use for Money Laundering.UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK sanctions corrupt politicians in Uganda who stole from vulnerable communities (press release).UK Home Office, New powers to seize cryptoassets used by criminals go live.UK Home Office, 004/2024: Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act – cryptoasset confiscation order provisions.UK Home Office, 005/2024: Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act – cryptoasset forfeiture provisions chapters 3C to 3F.UK Home Office, Certain information orders: code of practice.UK Home Office, Investigations: code of practice issued under section 377.UK Home Office, Recovery of cryptoassets: code of practice issued under section 303Z25.UK Home Office, Search, seizure and detention of property (England and Wales).UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Financial Sanctions Notice: Global Anti-Corruption.UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Financial Sanctions Notice: ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida.UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, General Licence: Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories Humanitarian Activity: INT/2023/3749168.UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Financial sanctions enforcement and monetary penalties guidance.UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Financial sanctions guidance for Russia.UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, UK Financial Sanctions FAQs.UK Parliament, Social and psychological implications of fraud (press release).UK Parliament, Report: Social and psychological implications of fraud.US Congress, National Security Act 2024.US Department of Justice, Brooklyn Resident Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Unlawfully Export Dual-Use Electronics Used in Russian Military Drones.US Department of Justice, Regional Leader of Sanctioned Russian Organization Pleads Guilty to Lying to FBI.US Department of Justice, Binance and CEO Plead Guilty to Federal Charges in $4B Resolution.US Department of State, Imposing New Measures on Russia for its Full-Scale War and Use of Chemical Weapons Against Ukraine.US Department of State, Recognizing the 25th Anniversary of the Council of Europe's Group of States Against Corruption.US Department of the Treasury, U.S. Continues to Degrade Russia's Military-Industrial Base and Target Third-Country Support with Nearly 300 New Sanctions.US Department of the Treasury, Remarks by Under Secretary Brian Nelson at ACI's Annual Flagship Conference on Economic Sanctions Enforcement and Compliance.US Office of Foreign Assets Control, Russia-related Designations Removals.US Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury Targets Sanctions Evaders Supporting Key Hizballah Financial Advisor.Wolfsberg Group, Wolfsberg Group Response to FATF public consultation on R.16/INR.16.World Economic Forum, Cryptocurrency regulations are changing across the globe. Here's what you need to know.
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on New York. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
A new report out this week says elder fraud reports to FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center rose by 14 percent in 2023. Fred Scholl talked about elder fraud. He is an associate teaching professor and director of the graduate cybersecurity program at Quinnipiac University. Plus, he weighed in on the discovery made regarding United Health NOT using multifactor authentication to avoid a recent nationwide cyberattack. For full elder fraud report: Elder Fraud, in Focus — FBI Image Credit: Getty Images
A new report from FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center shows people 60 and older lost $3.4 billion to fraudsters and scammers last year. That’s up 11% in a year, with an average loss of $34,000 per victim. On today’s show, we’ll hear the latest in elder financial exploitation. We’ll also learn more about Tesla’s surprising move to scrap its EV charging team. Plus, a rate hike could still be on the table.
A new report from FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center shows people 60 and older lost $3.4 billion to fraudsters and scammers last year. That’s up 11% in a year, with an average loss of $34,000 per victim. On today’s show, we’ll hear the latest in elder financial exploitation. We’ll also learn more about Tesla’s surprising move to scrap its EV charging team. Plus, a rate hike could still be on the table.
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Missouri. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
Fran Marie interviews Shelley Lynch our Public Affairs Officer with FBI Charlotte Division about LOVE SCAMS. Check out www.ic3.gov to keep up with the many scams committed, including love scams. Shelley Lynch always reminds us to learn more about the Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3. It's the Nation's central hub for reporting cybercrime, which includes Valentine's Day scams. If you believe you believe that you have been a victim of a cybercrime, file a complaint or report it. Even though it might be embarrassing to admit we've been scammed, your information is invaluable.
With a large fortune in sight, a whole family gathers to determine the next set of moves. What is an heiress to do?December 1932, the royal Mdivani siblings gather in Paris to determine how the newly divorced Prince Alexis Mdivani will woo and finally catch Barbara Hutton. Only Barbara's family will thwart his efforts, but a Mdivani is never one to fully give up on such a large fortune at stake.Other people and subjects include: Louise Van Alen – formerly Princess Louise Van Alen Mdivani, Princess Nina Mdivani Huberich, Charles Huberich, Princess Roussadana “Roussie” Mdivani Sert, Prince Serge Mdivani, Prince David Mdivani, Baroness Maud von Thyssen – Else Zarske, Baron von Thyssen, Countess Silvia de Rivas de Castellane, Franklyn Hutton, Irene Hutton, James “Jeem” Donahue, Germaine “Ticki” Touquet, Doris Duke, Nanaline Duke, James HR Cromwell aka “Jimmy,” Eva Stotesbury, E.T. Stotesbury, Evalyn Walsh McLean, Hope Diamond, social secretary, Yale beau, James Blakeley, Winston Guest, Cartier, Paris, New York, Savoy Plaza Hotel, Fifth Avenue townhome, Central Park, oceanliner Berengia, seduction, problematic love affair, fortune hunter, expensive gifts, reporters, nature of Chesterton Fence Principle, historiography even for a podcast, parallel emotional connections, vulnerabilities, collective mindsets, recent thefts, lawlessness, Great Depression, Prohibition, gangsters, outlaws, Robin Hood, Salem Witch Trials, the Spanish Inquisition, social media, terrors of the mob, unknown future, fraud, love and romance scam, FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), wire transfers, cryptocurrency, input from listeners, interactions, online communities, Phil Plant, Batman & Robin tv series, Catwoman Julie Newmar, Danish grandmother heiress, Belle Baruch, Huntington Hartford, Henrietta Hartford, Titanic, John Jacob Astor IV aka “Jack,” Vincent Astor, James “Henry” Van Alen aka Jimmy, a female Mdivani cousin--Extra Notes / Call to Action:Past Perfect Vintage Radiohttps://www.pastperfect.com/radio/www.pastperfect.comShare, like, subscribe--Archival Music provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, www.pastperfect.com.Opening Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance BandsSection 1 Music: I Guess I Will Have To Change My Plans by Ambrose & His Orchestra, Album The Great British Dance BandsSection 2 Music: These Foolish Things by Benny Carter, Album Perfect BluesSection 3 Music: So Rare by Carroll Gibbons, Album Sophistication 3End Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands--https://asthemoneyburns.com/TW / IG – @asthemoneyburnsFacebook – https://www.facebook.com/asthemoneyburns/
The Electronic Funds Transfer Act – passed in 1978 – is meant to protect U.S. consumers from being defrauded when they make a transaction via an ATM, debit card or direct deposit or by point-of-sale and phone transactions. But the law makes an exception for wire transfers. And in recent years, wire fraud has exploded as scammers are making use of the loophole. According to the FBI, its Internet Crime Complaint Center received reports of this type of fraud totaling $2.4 billion in losses in 2021. Reset sat down with Stephanie Zimmermann, consumer investigations reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, to learn more.
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Indiana. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Illinois. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Hawaii. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Georgia. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Iowa. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Delaware. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Colorado. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on California. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Arkansas. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Arizona. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Alaska. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
A podcast by BBB of the Tri-Counties: https://www.bbb.org/local-bbb/bbb-of-the-tri-counties Welcome to this week's edition of Your Moment of Trust. When it comes to New Year's resolutions, scammers know that losing weight and getting in shape is one of the most popular goals. This popularity has led to a slew of scams involving vitamins, supplements, and weight loss formulas, all claiming to offer rapid results. Not only are the products themselves questionable, but so are the business dealings of the companies peddling them. To help avoid weight loss scams, BBB recommends the following: ● Always be wary of advertisements and customer endorsements promising "miracle" results or immediate weight loss. The Federal Trade Commission warns consumers that many shady weight loss products are accompanied by false promises. For example, if an ad says their product will make you lose weight "permanently," you're looking at a false promise. ● Don't be quick to trust endorsements. Many scammers use pictures of celebrities, TV show mentions, or well-known company logos to gain consumers' trust without their permission. Always research the company before doing business with them, no matter who supposedly endorses their product. ● Avoid products that claim to help lose weight without diet or exercise. Be especially skeptical of claims that you don't have to change your eating habits. Doctors, dieticians, and other experts agree that losing weight takes work and should be gradual. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, losing 1-2 pounds per week is a healthy goal and is more successful in achieving long-term weight loss. Pass up any product that promises miraculous, sudden results without any effort. ● Check a product's ingredients with the FDA. Be suspicious of taking special pills, powders, or herbs. Some products have been recalled for containing ingredients with potentially dangerous effects. Check the list of public notifications from the FDA regarding potentially harmful weight loss products. In Canada, check with Health Canada for guidelines. ● Be wary of a lack of an ingredients list. Some companies have been accused of not advertising certain ingredients that can come with harmful side effects or mix adversely with prescription drugs. ● Be wary of free trial offers, and before signing up, understand all the terms and conditions. These deals can become "subscription traps" that hook consumers into expensive shipments of products they did not agree to buy. Before clicking check out or purchase, make sure the cart only includes the items you wish to purchase and does not include signing up for a subscription unless this is an option you want. Be cautious of any contract that takes payment from your credit card until you cancel. ● When participating in online forums and chat rooms focused on weight loss and fitness topics, be wary of individuals pushing products they claim will help quickly reach goals. ● Be realistic about your fitness goals. It's hard work to lose weight. Find a program you can stick with, preferably one that you enjoy. Does a weight loss plan require special foods? Can you cancel if you move or find that the program doesn't meet your needs? If you need help, ask your doctor for suggestions. ● Research the company with BBB.org before purchasing. Read reviews about the company to see if there are any complaints alleging that it's a scam. ● Report the deceptive ads. Be suspicious of ridiculously positive testimonials on the company website. Testimonials have become an easy marketing tool and are easily faked. These are often accompanied by glorious before and after pictures. Call your BBB to report suspicious, confusing, or misleading ads to BBB Ad Truth or report a scam with BBB Scam Tracker. Consumers can also report the ad to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by calling 877-FTC-Help. You can also report fake ads to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. A BIG thank you to Ayers Automotive Repair in Santa Barbara for sponsoring this podcast!
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Alabama. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
Scamming is an industry that seeks to trick and prey on the vulnerable through a variety of platforms. Older people have been known to fall victim to fraud, but now younger adults are the targets and they're losing money to online shopping scams, phishing emails and fake jobs. Even phone scams continue to hit millions of Americans each year, costing nearly $40 billion in 2022. MPR News host Angela Davis talks about scams and how to be a smarter consumer. We also look at how scam artists have gotten smarter and why their tricks are getting harder to identify. Guests: Marti DeLiema is an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work. Susan Adams Loyd is the president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Minnesota and North Dakota Here are four key moments from the conversation. The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Click the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. What are some types of scams and who do they target? Marti DeLiema: We're seeing everything from online shopping scams to romance scams and tech support scams. It might not seem that the motivating factor is trying to get money from the victims since the scammer isn't asking for anything right off the bat. Scammers use mass marketing communication approaches like telephone, internet, email, so they really cast a broad net. There are certain scam types that certain types of people are more likely to take the bait on: older adults might be more susceptible to tech support scams versus young adults, who are more susceptible to online shopping or fake remote job offers. The push to remote work environments made a lot of people go online and look for these jobs. These criminals even do mock job interviews with candidates. Then the scammer sends you a check, for example, to purchase startup equipment, but then says the check accidentally was for too much money and asks you to send the difference back. You just write them a check, and a week later the bank gets in touch with you and says the check the scammers sent you was fake. A lot of people don't know about how those bogus checks work. Susan Adams Loyd: We see examples of that same check scam twisted, not only from a tech scam but to something very unsophisticated, like a refrigerator repair company. It's very simple to get people distracted in situations that they're not familiar with and those fraudsters know very carefully how to get little incremental steps towards you taking action that benefits them. People feel shame — they go underground and they don't even tell their friends. Maybe they will tell their spouse and their children if they're elderly. If you reported it to the BBB or Federal Trade Commission you might be able to get help, but if you are ashamed you don't go into a quick mode and therefore don't respond soon enough and that buys fraudsters time to get out of dodge with your cash in hand. Tell us about scammers trying to impersonate people, law enforcement, or companies Susan Adams Loyd: These scammers are good. They're quite sophisticated. They're actors. They're fraudsters. So they use scripts and role-playing, to really get to the heart of it, and they're good at it. They've done it enough times to work through the call, the timing of it, and the tone of it to make it sound real. I'm proud to say that in 2022, there were 87 callers who called BBB right before pressing send or right before responding. And, in real time, we did a rough count and saved $504,000 worth of money. BBB is a nonprofit organization, we're a non-government agency and we're here to help consumers for free. Marti DeLiema: I want to talk about one limit of consumer education, and this is something that has been coming up in my research. People do not make their best decisions when they're in states of high emotional arousal, when they're feeling deeply fearful, or when they're feeling deeply excited. So the criminals will do everything they can to get you in those emotional states right off the bat. Because then all of the warning signs, the visual warning signs, and even people expressing their concerns will be ignored and you will follow the scammer's orders. What's the federal government doing about scams? Marti DeLiema: Scams are a lot for just one office to handle a day. So one, they're a little overwhelmed. And two, it's kind of this multiple-pronged approach to fighting fraud. Consumer education is really important and also enforcement. Most of the crimes are international, they're not easy to identify or arrest, and that presents a challenge to law enforcement. Another area that they're working on is legislation: what can they do to enforce legitimate and real companies to do more to fight impersonation scams? I want to empathize with people who feel that nothing is being done. But this is just such a challenging problem, and technology is accelerating faster than we can keep up and enforce. What organizations can help people who have been scammed? Marti DeLiema: There is a government agency called the Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3. IC3 is an organization that takes your complaints, and they do have the ability to do a rapid response. If you can report within 24 hours, it's possible that they will be able to help you recoup those losses, especially if it's things like a wire transfer. After that, report to the Federal Trade Commission to be part of the consumer complaint. Susan Adams Loyd: AARP is one of our closest partners with the Better Business Bureau. The consumer education that AARP does on a national basis is tremendous. And we'd love to invite you to a “scam jam” where you can share your story with others. We get together and we figure out how to learn how to fight those scammers before they find us. So we have scam jams a couple of times a year with AARP. Your stories of scams Listeners called into the show and shared their stories. Here are some of them. An 84-year-old veteran loses $60,000 I was called by the CIA, supposedly. And I had my name come up in an automobile down in Texas that I was laundering money, and that I would have to pay a fine and be in prison unless I cooperated with them. They showed me their badges in a message and said: “In order to try and catch this guy we need you to take $30,000 out of your account. We will give it back to you as well as you help us.” So I sent it to someplace in California. And then I was dumb enough to do it again and sent the other $30,000 to somebody in New Jersey. When they didn't return the money, I called the number that I previously called to talk to them and that number had been disconnected. When I called the local police, I was quite surprised because they said, “You sent money out of the city so we can't do anything really for you. But go ahead and send me a report.” I called the FBI, called the bank. I'm a veteran, 84 years of age. Those were life savings. If it weren't for Social Security, I'd be on the street. — Sam from New Brighton A fake job found on Indeed.com I'm a young professional in Minneapolis, and I've been looking for a more big-girl job as they call them. I found this company, and it seemed too good to be true because they were offering a really big salary for an entry-level position. And I feel like that's a big red flag for anybody that is looking for a job. I had like three interviews with them and there was that kind of sense of urgency. A lot of times we would end an interview and they'd say, “Well, are you willing to send us this information by 5 p.m. today? it has to be today.” I would say be careful if you're looking on Indeed.com because a lot of fake workplaces actually put out ads on that website. — Christina from Minneapolis A fake illustration job may have been money laundering I'm a freelance illustrator and cartoonist and I was targeted by a checking fraud scam. In 2021, somebody contacted me saying they were an event planner, and that they needed illustrations for a COVID prevention workshop. They were smart. They knew exactly what to say to make it sound like a legitimate illustration job. They ended up sending the check for twice the amount they were supposed to send, and I was suspicious. But they emailed me before I had a chance to even ask about it. The business name printed on the check was a real business, and it had a real physical location. The routing number was from a real bank. I even asked a bank specialist who told me it looked real. After that, they started asking me for a refund. I didn't give them any money and I was waiting for the check to bounce, but it never did. It turned out that they stole the money from a legitimate account. And I guess maybe they were using me to launder it. — Lupi from Minneapolis Scams involving bail, jail and courts I've had a couple of experiences. The first happened to my father, who is in his early 60s. He was called and told that I was in jail and that he needed to send $15,000 in bail. Fortunately, he took the time that your previous caller mentioned, he called me and figured out what was going on. The second one happened to my sister-in-law, who's a medical doctor. She was almost scammed out of $6,000 through quite an elaborate situation where they found out she was a medical witness for patients of hers and they called her saying she was in contempt of missing her court date as a witness and needed to bring this cash immediately to a court station. This apparently happened to several of her colleagues. — Ryan from Mankato An Apple Pay scam while borrowing a phone One evening after work I stopped at the gas station to fill my tank and get some snacks. This gentleman came up to me and said he was having car troubles and if he could use my phone to call roadside assistance. I let him use my phone, and he called State Farm, roadside assistance on speaker. It didn't seem like they were really getting anywhere but he kept passing my phone back to me and it kept getting locked. He was asking me to put in my pin and open it again, and one of the times he passed me my phone to unlock it, the lock screen was white instead of black. After I drove off, I saw that he had attempted to charge $150 from my Apple Pay for his Google Voice number, and I realized that must have been what happened when the lock screen was white. — Kat from Minneapolis A potential client ends up being a scammer We used to live in Minneapolis. About seven years ago, my husband who works as a freelance document translator received an email from a potential client, which is typically how his business works. He spent two days working on a translation for this gentleman, and when the time came to invoice the guy, we got an envelope in the mail with traveler's checks. The man had obviously overpaid and asked us to go ahead and cash the traveler's checks and just return the difference to him. I'm an experienced business traveler and I knew by looking at them that they were fraudulent. I contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation in downtown Minneapolis because I figured this was mail fraud, and the agent who answered the phone basically said, “we get about a dozen of these a day and we can't be bothered chasing down these little things.” — Kathy from France Resources for scam help Throughout the conversation, the guests mentioned some resources that help people who have suffered fraud, or who feel in danger of being scammed. Click on each one to go to their official website: AARP Better Business Bureau (BBB) Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Idaho. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
Can You Secure Security Cameras? The Coming Green Energy Nightmare - Email Scams Hitting Businesses and Lonely Hearts Scams… Eight questions to ask yourself before getting a security camera https://www.welivesecurity.com/2022/10/03/8-questions-ask-yourself-getting-home-security-camera/ Security cameras were once the preserve of the rich and famous. Now anyone can get their hands on one thanks to technological advances. The advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) has created a significant new market – for manufacturers of devices like connected doorbells and baby monitors and more sophisticated whole-of-property systems. Connected to home Wi-Fi networks, these devices allow owners to watch live video footage, record video for later, and receive alerts when out of the house. Yet these same features can also expose households to new risks if the camera is compromised and the footage is leaked. Not all vendors have as big a focus on security and privacy as they should. That means you need to ask the right questions before starting. ++++++++ Romance scammer and BEC fraudster sent to prison for 25 years https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2022/10/04/romance-scammer-and-bec-fraudster-sent-to-prison-for-25-years/ Elvis Eghosa Ogiekpolor was jailed for 25 years in Atlanta, Georgia, for running a cybercrime group that scammed close to $10,000,000 in under two years from individuals and businesses caught up in the so-called romance and BEC scams. BEC is short for business email compromise, an umbrella term for a form of online scam in which the attackers acquire login access to email accounts inside a company so that the fraudulent emails they send don't just seem to come from the company they're attacking, but do come from there. ++++++++ How a deepfake Mark Ruffalo scammed half a million dollars from a lonely heart https://grahamcluley.com/how-a-deepfake-mark-ruffalo-scammed-half-a-million-dollars-from-a-lonely-heart/ The Asahi Shimbun reports that 74-year-old Manga artist Chikae Ide received an unsolicited message via Facebook in February 2018 from somebody claiming to be Ruffalo. With help from some translation software, an initially skeptical Ide responded to the Hollywood actor, attaching a photograph of herself. An American friend of Ide subsequently questioned whether the person claiming to be Ruffalo was genuine, noting that he wrote: “like somebody who has not learned English.” But, says Ide, a 30-second video call blew away any suspicions. “I'm sure it was Mark himself behind the screen chatting with me,” Ide said. Energy… The Coming Green Electricity Nightmare https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/10/02/the-coming-green-electricity-nightmare/ What this net-zero transition would require: How many millions of wind turbines, billions of solar panels, billions of EVs, backup batteries, millions of transformers, thousands of miles of transmission lines – sprawling across millions of acres of wildlife habitat, scenic and agricultural lands, and people's once-placid backyards? To cite just one example, just the 2,500 wind turbines needed for New York electricity (30,000 megawatts) would require nearly 110,000 tons of copper – which would necessitate mining, crushing, processing, and refining 25 million tons of copper ore … after removing some 40 million tons of overlying rock to reach the ore bodies. Multiply that times 50 states – and the entire world – plus transmission lines. Spooks… FLASHBACK: CIA Sabotaged Soviet Pipeline to Europe in 1982 - US Software Caused Massive Explosion in Siberian Pipeline Seen From Space https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/10/flashback-cia-sabotaged-soviet-pipeline-europe-1982-us-software-caused-massive-explosion-siberian-pipeline-seen-space/ Back in 1982, the CIA sabotaged a Soviet pipeline in Siberia. US software caused a gas pipeline explosion so large it could be seen in space. The Americans did not want the Europeans to purchase Soviet gas. In January 1982, President Ronald Reagan approved a CIA plan to sabotage the economy of the Soviet Union through covert transfers of technology that contained hidden malfunctions, including software that later triggered a massive explosion in a Siberian natural gas pipeline, according to a memoir by a Reagan White House official. ++++++++ Former NSA Employee Faces Death Penalty for Selling Secrets https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/ex--nsa-employee-faces-death-penalty-for-selling-secrets When he left his job as an information systems security designer with the National Security Agency, Jareh Sebastian Dalke allegedly took a few classified documents with him. Stealing — and then attempting to sell — those secret government documents could land the Colorado Springs man on death row. Dalke has been charged with trying to sell those government secrets to a foreign government. But, according to a Department of Justice affidavit, the sale went bust when it turned out the potential buyer Dalke believed was an emissary from a foreign nation was an undercover FBI agent. Hackers… Ransomware 3.0: The Next Frontier https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/ransomware-3-the-next-frontier The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Internet Crime Complaint Center received 3,729 complaints identified as ransomware in 2021, up 82% from just two years prior and accelerating. According to the Department of Treasury, the top 10 ransomware gangs raked at least $5.2 billion in extortion payments. Ransomware's growth and sheer scale captured leaders' attention in policy and business, but we must keep our eye on how its operators might adapt and evolve to protect their profits. ++++++++ Russian Hackers Take Aim at Kremlin Targets https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/russian-hackers-take-aim-at/ According to a new report, Russian threat actors have begun launching cyber-attacks at targets inside their country in retaliation for what they see as a needless war with Ukraine. The Kyiv Post claimed to have spoken to members of the National Republican Army (NRA), a Russian hacking outfit working towards overthrowing the Putin regime. ++++++++ Relentless Russian Cyberattacks on Ukraine Raise Important Policy Questions https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/russian-cyberattacks-ukraine-raise-important-policy-questions The cyber picture worsened as the war went on because critical infrastructure and systems used to support the war effort ended up in the crosshairs. Soon after the onset of the physical invasion, Microsoft found that it could also correlate cyberattacks in the critical infrastructure sector with kinetic events. For example, as the Russian campaign moved around the Donbas region in March, researchers observed coordinated wiper attacks against transportation logistics systems used for military movement and the delivery of humanitarian aid. And they are targeting nuclear facilities in Ukraine with cyber activity to soften a target before military incursions, which Microsoft researchers have consistently seen throughout the war.
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on North Carolina. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
Lissa's grandparents got suckered into the "grandchild in jail" scam recently. In 2021, more than 450 Americans over 60 reported being victimized by grandparent scams that bilked them out of an estimated $6.5 million, according to a report from the Internet Crime Complaint Center. Don't let this happen to someone you know & love.
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Vermont. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Nevada. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Nevada. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Texas. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Connecticut. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
For every citizen and business in the United States, cybercrime is a growing – and perhaps inescapable – threat. So, what do you do if you or someone you know falls victim to a cyberattack, data breach, or hack? The researchers at Cybercrime Magazine encourage you to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the appropriate local authorities in your state. Today's spotlight is on Florida. Learn more about reporting a cybercrime across the United States at https://reportacybercrime.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com
This joint Cybersecurity Advisory describes the ways in which People's Republic of China state-sponsored cyber actors continue to exploit publicly known vulnerabilities in order to establish a broad network of compromised global infrastructure. These actors use the network to exploit a wide variety of targets worldwide, including public and private sector organizations. AA22-158A Alert, Technical Details, and Mitigations Refer to China Cyber Threat and Advisories, Internet Crime Complaint Center, and NSA Cybersecurity Guidance for previous reporting on People's Republic of China state-sponsored malicious cyber activity. US government and critical infrastructure organizations should consider signing up for CISA's cyber hygiene services, including vulnerability scanning, to help reduce exposure to threats. US Defense Industrial Base organizations should consider signing up for the NSA Cybersecurity Collaboration Center's DIB Cybersecurity Service Offerings, including Protective Domain Name System (PDNS) services, vulnerability scanning, and threat intelligence collaboration. For more information on eligibility criteria and how to enroll in these services, email dib_defense@cyber.nsa.gov. All organizations should report incidents and anomalous activity to CISA's 24/7 Operations Center at central@cisa.dhs.gov or (888) 282-0870 and to the FBI via your local FBI field office or the FBI's 24/7 CyWatch at (855) 292-3937 or CyWatch@fbi.gov.
This joint Cybersecurity Advisory describes the ways in which People's Republic of China state-sponsored cyber actors continue to exploit publicly known vulnerabilities in order to establish a broad network of compromised global infrastructure. These actors use the network to exploit a wide variety of targets worldwide, including public and private sector organizations. AA22-158A Alert, Technical Details, and Mitigations Refer to China Cyber Threat and Advisories, Internet Crime Complaint Center, and NSA Cybersecurity Guidance for previous reporting on People's Republic of China state-sponsored malicious cyber activity. US government and critical infrastructure organizations should consider signing up for CISA's cyber hygiene services, including vulnerability scanning, to help reduce exposure to threats. US Defense Industrial Base organizations should consider signing up for the NSA Cybersecurity Collaboration Center's DIB Cybersecurity Service Offerings, including Protective Domain Name System (PDNS) services, vulnerability scanning, and threat intelligence collaboration. For more information on eligibility criteria and how to enroll in these services, email dib_defense@cyber.nsa.gov. All organizations should report incidents and anomalous activity to CISA's 24/7 Operations Center at central@cisa.dhs.gov or (888) 282-0870 and to the FBI via your local FBI field office or the FBI's 24/7 CyWatch at (855) 292-3937 or CyWatch@fbi.gov.
Learn the latest on sophisticated schemes targeting businesses like yours and what you can do to protect yourself. Melissa Jay Murphy 00:06 Hello, everyone, welcome to the Title Now Pop-up webinar. I'm Melissa Murphy with The Fund and I am relaunching these webinars after taking a fairly significant break. So, thank you for tuning in. Because it's been several months since I hosted a webinar, I thought that I would make sure that all of you know we also have a podcast I feel very modern and with it. The podcast is also called Title Now and I generally push the audio from these webinars to the podcast and will be doing that with today's presentation. The podcast is available through all of the typical channels so sign up and take advantage of all the great content that we have in the podcast. So, what are we talking about today? We're talking about cyber fraud and why cyber fraud because it is the number one threat to our industry. It's the number one threat to your business. Despite that reality I fear that so many people in the closing business have heard about cyber fraud over and over and over again and I know I nag about cyber fraud over and over again. You've become sort of resigned to it. You've made minimal gestures toward protecting yourself perhaps setting up some procedures you've made minimal efforts to really keep up to date with what's going on out there in the world of cyber fraud. You're basically rolling the dice on whether you will be the next victim and honestly in today's market, unless you have $400,000 or $500,000 set aside in your rainy-day fund, you are really taking a chance. So, I feel like because this threat to our industry has evolved over the past year. Things have changed and in who's behind this and how they're, what their business plan is, what their workflow model is. And those changes are not good for us. The criminals have figured out that preying on our industry is pretty darn lucrative and apparently not that hard. So, I thought it was a great time to revisit this topic give you an opportunity to learn more about who is behind this crime, how they view our industry and how they have identified our weak points and how they can get in. We have two gentlemen with us today that are on the frontlines of this war and yes, it's a war. They're going to share their knowledge, expertise, and advice on what the industry and you need to understand and what you need to do to address this threat. So first, I have with me, Tom Cronkright. Tom's an attorney in Michigan, but much more importantly than that Tom is in a closing business. He has a title agency Sun Title, it's a high-volume agency, and he also has a company CertifID, that's in the business of safeguarding money in real estate deals and through this process through this life experience, Tom has become one of the real estate industry's leading experts on cyber fraud and he is committed to solving the largest problem in real estate. And he's so good at this, that the Secret Service has partnered with him. We have Steven Dougherty here from the Secret Service. And as you can see from his impressive background, he's with the Global Investigations Operation Center for the Secret Service. Tom and Steven, let's get started. What's happening in the world of cyber fraud, business email fraud? What do we need to know? Tom Cronkright 4:28 Steven, I'll let you take this but Melissa, thanks for taking the time and just spreading more and more awareness on this topic. You do such a nice job, appreciate the tee up. But Steven, why don't we read you in we've had a very very active year and a half together and as far as combating BEC, or business email compromise and wire fraud. But as Melissa mentioned, a little bit more background but I'm a wire fraud victim as well. So as an attorney, title agent, I've been through this process. Unfortunately, in 2015, it cost me nearly $200,000 and ended up in a high-profile federal trial down in Tampa. So, when Melissa mentioned that I've become a subject matter expert, I just paid a lot of tuition in this realm that these are courses I did not want to take. As a title agent or lawyer, I don't remember a cyber fraud and money laundering class in law school. I remember tax and corporations secure transactions, but that's it. Steven, you could be read the group into what we're seeing at a high level and how that starts to work its way down into the real estate. Steven Dougherty 05:40 Yes, where I sit in a very unique position here. I'm at Secret Service headquarters in Washington DC. I'm in a desk here called our business email compromised mission desk, in which my unit gets in pretty much real time aggregative incidences cyber enabled financial fraud affecting every industry. These guys are threat actors are targeting every industry out there where financial transactions are taking place. You know, every industry has it, but where's it most visible? It's most visible in the real estate sector. So, they've really turned their sights on the real estate sector for the past several years and they continue to focus on it because there's so many different transactions involved in real estate transactions. You have your closing, you have your mortgage payoff, you have your earnest money deposit. All of these things are being targeted by our threat actors, and it is driven by one thing. The intersection of what I call contemporaneous and privileged information between your buyer and seller, your real estate and closing attorney they will be the only the ones you would think would have the information like the Closing Disclosure, mortgage payoff documents, anything involving the transaction, but that gets intercepted by our bad actors. And then they weaponize that against you. To get you to redirect transfers of funds, send a payment somewhere you shouldn't stuff like that. Tom Cronkright 7:03 Steven when you say that they're visible. What do you mean that real estate transactions are uniquely visible? Steven Dougherty 07:10 Just the information is out there, due to the real estate sector types of reporting information. Tom, you know, you and I have talked about this a lot about how much of open-source information is available for us to go get or for our threat actors to go find. They can use that, piece it together and then uses that to do a very, very targeted attack. That's so specific that fools even the most complex or educated individuals to spend their money. Tom Cronkright 7:38 Yeah, what we've seen I want to layer on it mostly, if you don't mind. I went two minutes on this because I think the framework of where we are right now creates unique vulnerabilities than when I was hit in 2015 as an agent. So, if we think about the multiple listing service, all of our real estate partners that feed us deals that we're codependent on have an obligation to post up activity on the MLS. That MLS has contracts with Zillow and Trulia and a realtor typically for money to syndicate or buy that data in real time. So, what's interesting is real estate, being now the largest asset of people's lives, and there's not a close second given appreciation. I don't know if you guys saw the NICU from ALTA this morning, but home prices went up another 15% last year. That not only is that the largest asset of people's lives, it's the most visible transaction that we have in the United States. Car purchasing and other high value assets those are happening between, you know, kind of behind the curtain but not real estate. Because of the open market process that a listing agent has to conduct to get highest best use or highest best value for a property and then the fraudster just mine these deal boards. Say “Oh, looks like Norma is listing her house” and “Steve is listing his house” and listing you know, my whatever it happens to be. And then through phishing strategies, these real estate agents have the security of a dumpster essentially, on a super warm day. And they're just exposing us and I'm just going to say it because look, not every time but let's just say in most cases, and then we don't know that all the information that Steven is saying contemporaneous and privileged is being scraped and analyzed overseas, to then trick a homebuyer. And again, let's talk about homeownership right now. There is no inventory. We fell below 1 million listings last month there are more licensed real estate agents in the country than there are homes for sale for the first time that they've been tracking inventory levels. Run the math. By about a few 100,000, we have 3,800 licensed real estate agents in Greater Grand Rapids. This morning we had 900 listings. So, what does it take to buy a parked property? I've got an employee right now at CertifID. She missed out on three offers. She's been through 12 homes she was high fiving me last night almost crying in a text. “Oh my gosh, we got one right.” They’re going to do anything they can to close that. When they get to the end three weeks from now and are asked to transfer money, if they're not set up for success, that buyer anxiety and that buyer fatigue, at a time when we need them more protected, I would argue creates more vulnerability because look I'm not going through that process again. So, I'm going to do whatever you need. If you're saying I don't need to bring a check anymore and I’ve got a wire funds. Tell me where to send that wire. Steven, I think you'll agree we saw that over and over and over and continue to every week that we're involved in recovery efforts. Steven Dougherty 10:56 Yes. Talking to you touch on some really good points. So, let's talk about how these compromises are actually occurring. How are they actually getting in and getting this information out? What they do is through multiple different means either through already having your password for your email account that's already on the dark web through a data breach compromise. You guys actually go to a website Have I been pwned? https://haveibeenpwned.com They've been your email address and see if that email address was involved in any of the large-scale data breach compromises. They'll take that information, find your old password, try to use that to log into your account. That's one way to do it. Another way they'll attack is through a targeted phishing email, where they'll send you an email with a document to click on for some reason. You click on it because you think you're supposed it brings you to a web page. You type in your email address and password and boom are bad actors now your email address and password. And once they have that information, they go in and they log into your email account. They only log in one time. Generally, what they do is they'll go to your settings, and they'll set up an email rule to auto forward out any email you receive. So, you get an email from your client or homebuyer saying, “Hey, I've been told to close yeah, these are the details I have. What do you have?” Now our threat actor has all that information. That's how they get it. They only log in once, they setup the email rule, and the emails are built around that. Melissa Jay Murphy 12:29 Steven, I'd had a question on the chat for you. Oh, Tom already responded to the question. He is spot on. So, we have put in the chat the website that you go to see whether or not your email has been compromised and is out there on the dark web. https://haveibeenpwned.com So that's all. Steven Dougherty 12:50 Yeah, essentially, essentially, it's a website that conglomerates a bunch of different data breaches, and you know, going back for years, so your email address was involved in one of these. It will ping that and show you. That's why it's important to really keep your passwords updated, use new passwords, and don't repeat passwords. These threat actors, they just see that information, and they just start trying it in different places and they get lucky. Tom Cronkright 13:20 Steven let's stay on email accounts because they just seem to be the genesis of all things bad when they're compromised. Not only complex password, but can you speak a little bit about the importance of email settings and analyzing email settings. I think if this industry is ever going to set up Lunch and Learns this year is training our referral partners to identify whether their email accounts have been breached. This is one way but within the email account have rules been set up where their email account is being monitored in real time. They just don't know it and how you prevent it. Steven Dougherty 13:58 So essentially, like I said, these guys log into your email account just once, they go into your settings and they set up a setting or filter to auto forward out of all your emails that way and it’s not only that, they're deleting everything that gets auto forwarded out. They can tailor it to be very specific that you'd have it say you know, any email that uses the word “wire” or “account” or “payment”. I want you to filter that out to another email account and then delete it. So, it is very targeted with that. What we recommend and what you really should be doing along with changing your passwords very regularly, as you change your password every time go in and check those settings and make sure no unauthorized settings have been set up. You can also actually automate that through different your IT groups if you have them. Your IT groups can even, especially if you're using suite like Office 365, can be set up a way to monitor all email rules that are set up on your system to prevent unauthorized roles being set up. So that's one thing is very important. You guys got to check on that just as much as you can get your password. If you do review your rules, you will be able to see the rules set up. Most of the time, these are set out as user generated rules that you can see in those settings. Pretty easy to do. Particularly in Outlook go up to the gear on the right, click that drop it down, go to Settings, go to rules and alerts if anything's been set up there. Tom Cronkright 15:56 Yeah, I mean specifically any forwarding rules, any autodelete rules, any rules that scan for keywords in emails, all of those you can see either in Outlook 365 version or a desktop or native environment. Also in Google, Yahoo. All the different platforms have essentially these rule settings. The challenge is if the rule is set up, you could change your password every single day. The fraudster is still moving that communication into other accounts. So, you just got to make sure you kick him out of that. Then you reset the password and then you enable two factor or what's called multifactor authentication. Multifactor authentication is an additional security setting. So, you have your username, you have your password. We use a complex password manager here at our all of our organizations. That is LastPass. (https://www.lastpass.com) In a complex password manager you create this super secure master password and then for every site that you link for your email accounts, they create some ridiculous password that like you'd never know it. When you enable multifactor, multifactor is one more layer of security that provides a unique code each and every time that you send in a request to access the account. This adds a little bit more friction. But again, we're balancing friction with user security and data security. As attorneys the bar for us is always higher. There's no difference in court when we're standing up and someone's on the other side saying “Let me get this straight. You didn't check a box of multifactor that could have prevented this whole thing because this seems to be the proximate cause of where we're landing here.” Either your IOLTA account or escrow account was drained. Or I've got a consumer facing the loss of life savings. So that's just the brutal truth of it guys. Then using secure email, judges really don't understand secure email, but secure email is essentially a rail that provides security layer between one server and another server. So, you're sending the email on more secure basis. What we're talking about is making sure that that destination point isn't compromised. Because if the destination point is compromised, secured email doesn't do any good at all. Okay, the secure email secures it in transit, not what they call “at rest.” So, you got to do both. Melissa Jay Murphy 18:03 So, it seems to me that these additional safeguards and procedures are all a result of the increasing sophistication and increasing numbers of attempts. So, you know, I just don't think this is somebody in a gray hoodie in a Starbucks anymore. So, who is it that's behind this now because hasn't that change? Steven Dougherty 19:13 She's stole my line or she stole our favorite line. The line is that these are not your lone wolf hackers sitting in their grandma's basement drinking Mountain Dew and eating Cheetos, their favorite lives. That's what people think when they think you know, computer hackers, cyber fraud. But no, it's definitely not these guys operate what I refer to as the enterprise business model. It's a top-down business with a C suite and all set up with people below them to work these very complex organizations. They are transnational organized crime organizations. With the C suite you have your CEOs, then they call themselves that Mr. CEO, Mr. Chairman, and they're the ones that are kind of dictate how they want to do their attacks. Then they realize okay, I need somebody to pull off my phishing attack. So, they'll go hire somebody to do that. Then they're gonna be like, “Alright, cool, the phishing attacks good. I have the good information. I know when this transaction is going to be done, and I'm going to redirect it.” So now it's redirecting to another bank account. So now they need the launder that money. They need to get that money to themselves to do that they go and set up a sort of financial director wing. That is this expansive network of global money mules that just constantly are transmitting money back and forth. This problem has gotten really bad. We're seeing a lot of money mules actually be picked from some romance scams prior. So, they are unwitting money mules. They don't know what they're doing. They're just told by someone they met online, that they're going to receive money and help them for construction project or something like that. Then afford those funds on. It is a sprawling network of money mules here. It gets even more granular you have sort of an admin team that helps maintain spoof domains that they need to carry out their attacks or monitor, maintain email addresses or pull off other types of fraud such as unemployment, insurance fraud, even ransomware is tied into this now to kind of bolster up the organization. So, you really have a robust organization you're dealing with here, and they're very complex. They're very efficient, and as they make more money from these frauds, they only get better. Now they can afford more money mules. They get afford better malware. So, it's just momentum that they've developed and it's a momentous problem. Melissa Jay Murphy 20:51 I know that they're targeting title agents because title agents are receiving and sending money, but the source of most wire diversions and claims that I am seeing amongst Fund Members involve that mortgage payoff and they're intercepting the mortgage payoff when it's being sent to the title agent? Are they sort of hoping that there's an easier way that they can get to that mortgage information and scale it up? Do you think that that's on the horizon? Steven Dougherty 21:37 Yes. Or it may have already happened, in some instances where they're getting in and they're getting pure information fed to them before it reaches its destination. Tom and I are seeing something very similar. We can't speak about specifics, but Tom if you want to touch on it. Tom Cronkright 21:55 You're exactly right. Melissa, I ran a statistic. The average open mortgage balance at the beginning of this month was just over $299,000 across the country. Okay, we haven't seen those levels ever. Again, that's because of the accelerated increase in home prices. So, a few years ago, mortgage payoff fraud really was I'm sitting in the real estate agent’s account. I'm seeing the closing attorney send over the mortgage payoff between the client they're sitting somewhere and they're obtaining the original copy of the mortgage payoff. They're taking that PDF, they're using software to doctor that up and then spoofing typically, the loan servicer or the lender saying, “Hey, we had to make a correction. Here's an updated payoff.” So, they're we're using it as kind of an updated payoff scam. But what they're realizing now is to say, “Wait a second, what if we could distribute your original payoff into the email system of the party requesting it, and it's fraudulent from the beginning, like the first one has been tampered with?” So, we saw this early on in the Nashville area mid-summer. And then we just saw in the state of Texas, where the fraudsters again appear to have compromised the electronic fax account of the title company or title companies using the fax to receive mortgage paths. Look, I'm in the industry, 98% of these come over by “fax”, but it's not the fax of days passed because that was a machine that telephonically printed out something on a piece of paper. We said we can't do that anymore. We need the fax to be converted to a PDF and an email and then have that sent into our general stream of communication. So, they figured out I call it the note of distribution. They figured out that to your point well that's that's a great phrasing. We can compromise these at scale. If we could get access to the eFax, GFI FaxMaker. It doesn't matter guys, but if they get in there, they can reroute traffic from the originating servicer where the payoffs being sent from, doctor that up, and push it right through the same rail down in the email. Fascinating scam, and we've seen them do it unfortunately at scale as recently as a couple of weeks ago. Melissa Jay Murphy 24:44 What I hear you saying is that in those situations, it doesn't matter if the criminal has put email forwarding rules in my account, or not, because they're in there before it even gets to me. So, they're not even diverting any information from my account. They, you know, they've moved on to a much more sophisticated scheme. Tom Cronkright 25:16 That's 100%, right. If you look at what 80% by definition of our disbursement obligations, sit at the mortgage payoff. We can't adequately insure it. The most insurance you're going to get is 250,000 per and that's assuming you did 15 things and a COVID test and a blood test to show them that you did everything to mitigate the insurance company's risk, which if you did that, you wouldn't have the fraud. And I think the other thing that we're seeing is, you just simply can't trust mortgage payoffs that are coming from in either direction from the fax right now, from a closing attorney that you relied upon to gather that because you're the dispersing agent, not the rep representing the seller. And if you don't mind, I'll touch on this. It comes down to essentially three things. One you have codified somewhere a trusted list of mortgage payoff information. Treasury templates are the best way to do it. That's stored on your bank server wall. So, you start to set up the wire. You type in Bank of America and all of a sudden, a bunch of known trusted accounts pop up, you compare it to what you have, you release the wire. Some people do that on spreadsheets. I've seen people that have had folders of PDFs that check, check and date. However, you do it, history can be a very, very good guide on what is true versus things that are not true. When it comes to mortgage payoffs. Calling to verify any new account information is even harder than it was before. It’s hard enough to get them to initiate the payoff. It's even harder right now to confirm just general bank account information for a wire but you have to do it or you just send a check, add some per diem, send a check but that's why it's important to get the mortgage payoff early in the process. Let's just think about mortgage payoff risk. Unless I'm sorry, this is going to breach some underwriting standard. The risk only goes down because the worst case is they made another payment. So, let's just get it out in the open. Let's get it before the fraudster has visibility to it. We can always ask for an update or they'll settle that out with the borrower at the end if for some reason they're radio silent on the verification. Know that we're in the process and we will be launching at CertifID an insured mortgage payoff database for spring market. So, we're in the process of analyzing over 300,000 trusted mortgage payoff records right now. We'll be piloting this in the next two weeks with a group and then we'll be launching this out. This is the number one threat. This is the threat guy that keeps me up at night. Because I know that any loan, commercial, there the table stakes could get large very quick where I'm out of business as a Title Agency in one single wire. We were involved last year in a 22 and a half million dollar, about $21 million commercial payoff wire recovery that landed in the money mule’s account. One wire that would have been lights out. Steven Dougherty 28:28 So, if these do happen to you, and there's a very good chance that it may just due to the threat landscape that's out there. The one thing that's extremely important here, time is money. If you discover this, you need to report it as quickly as you possibly can. There are numerous ways to report it. You can report it through any secret service field office, you can just Google “secretservice.gov and field offices.” You guys I believe are all in Florida, right for the most part. So, while our Orlando Tampa and Miami offices are all very active, very good offices, you can reach out directly to them. Or you can also go to FBI’s IC3, the IC3.gov. www.ic3.gov It’s the Internet Crime Complaint Center. You can also report it there. I'll put the link to the Secret Service field offices in the chat here in a second. But time is money, Tom, I mean, you know you get live streams of victims to you, and you get them to me and how fast have you seen money move within hours. So, we need to stress that time is money. Tom Cronkright 29:27 Yeah, what used to be touted as you know, 72 to 96 hours with the advent of cryptocurrency and just the sophistication. So, what happens in most cases is that when fraudulent wiring instructions are sent, they are typically sent from somewhere overseas. They're sent from the syndicate running the fraud play, but domestically, they have a series of money mules that either know what they're doing or wrapped up in something they're not even aware of that take money in and then quickly move it out. They can withdraw it in cashier's checks. They can withdraw it in cash. They can buy gift cards. Most insidious is that they move into crypto wallets. Then those wallets move and then they move out into other fiat currencies in different countries, and they can move those funds while the Federal Reserve is closed. So, as we're trying to digitize and make it more convenient, these rails of moving money, that are we would look at as kind of nontraditional, it's just a superhighway for them to launder funds and almost completely avoid detection. So, if you're two or three days in, and you haven't triggered a response from federal law enforcement and notified the banks, I mean the to your points Steven we've seen money move within hours. But we've also had instances where the money was in the bank branch. We notified the bank through our efforts, and they were stopped cold. I love stories like that. But it's harder. It's harder to reclaim the money after it's been stolen because they understand the gravity of how quickly they have to move the funds. Melissa Jay Murphy 31:13 So let me go back and let's try to make this really clear to our audience. The moment that you realize that either a mortgage payoff has been diverted or perhaps the sellers’ proceeds have been diverted. You contact a secret service field office, you email the IC3 website and file a notification. You must I assume contact your sending bank and the receiving bank and who do you ask to speak to at both the sending bank and the receiving bank? Tom Cronkright 31:59 So, before you answer, Steven, here's the point of this. What he's about to say needs to be done in advance. These relationships in this pathway needs to be groomed before you have an incident because what we found is that when crisis hits, people freeze and you're burning daylight, that could mean the difference between something coming back and everything being lost. So, I didn't need to step on you there Steven, but what we're about to say is do not wait. This playbook should be set in the organization before there's an incident. Steven Dougherty 32:41 The way I prioritize it is first you should actually contact your financial institution that sent the wire. They generally will on your behalf send a wire recall or a swift message that it was due to a fraudulent means or compromise. If you contact the receiving bank directly if you're not a client for them, oftentimes they won't help you because you're not their client or customer. That's just a caveat. But immediately contact your financial institution and tell them what happens and see if they can put a wire recall in. The next step is to contact federal law enforcement or local law enforcement really whatever you're comfortable with. But what Tom's point was great is you need to have an incident response plan in place before these happen. You need to know who to call to help you. Local law enforcement can help with this. State law enforcement to help and federal law enforcement. So, it's whoever you're comfortable with who you developed a relationship with. You can just Google obviously I provide the Secret Service field offices link you can also Google FBI field offices. HSI Homeland Security also plays in this space. IC3.gov is just a place to report that these happened. Even if there's an attempt, report and attempt. Even if you stop it, please report it to the IC3.gov because what that does is it now gives us meat to go after because there's still the bank account that was used to divert the funds, or the spoofed emails used to send the attack email. We can go add to that as well. So please, the biggest steps are to have an instant response plan in place where you know who to contact and how, and two report everything you can wherever you see because not only does it protect yourself it protects the entire community. Tom Cronkright 34:24 Yeah, well, what I've what I've been most surprised by when I'm most surprised, but one of the surprising things Steven I've involved in well over 100 recoveries last year for 35 to 36 million victims. And I say that because each one has a little uniqueness to it. One thing that seems to be bubbling up is if you're banking with a credit union or a community bank, maybe a smaller regional bank. You might be surprised, and you don't want to be surprised when you're going through it, that they don't have a fraud desk, they don't have somebody that understands how to send an alert through the Fed wire system or notify the receiving bank which is typically a money center bank. So, it's leaving a small bank. I mean, 9 times out of 10 it's hitting one of the big guys, because of the coordination they have globally. So, if they don't have their own incident wire fraud communication, all those channels. I mean, I had to educate bank presidents on what an indemnification and hold harmless looks like going to a money center bank, to allow the funds to come back to a victim. It's surprises me as a lawyer. So just don't be surprised. You run this. Sit down with your banker and make sure you know exactly who to call and the information that they will that will require. If they in turn, have the rails set up to protect you and get the documentation that the receiving bank is going to need to put a suspension on the account, freeze the movement of money, and hopefully work that back to you or your customer. And Melissa, it's worth noting it's not just the disbursement wires, yes, those were a direct hit to the closing attorneys. But it's the risks that buyers face when the closing attorney is spoofed. They haven't been educated. They haven't been engaged on this issue. They haven't received wiring instructions. And all of a sudden at the closing table we realize that there's no certified check in hand because their life savings was wired a few days ago. And I'm going to say this it does not matter to tell the people we don't receive wired we only receive certified checks. We have seen time and time again. The fraudster redirecting through communication the requirement that “Nope, can't have a check now because I've got an OMICRON outbreak or something's going on. I need your wire and I need your wire today.” It's just we've seen it unfortunately. Melissa Jay Murphy 37:05 It does seem to me that reverting to what we call the old-fashioned way of conducting business has some role here, has some advantages here. Some of the questions on the chat or have to deal with these new fax systems that do come straight to your computer versus more of a phone line that's sitting on the desk behind you. But is it better to use an old-fashioned fax machine to send and receive things? The problem is a buyer, the normal consumer, out there doesn’t have a fax machine sitting on their desk if they have a fax number? It's something tied to their computer, but certainly for the purpose of receiving a payoff from a lender. An old-fashioned fax machine seems like it might give you some level of protection. Then in dealing with for example, buyers that need information about where to send their cash due at closing. I don't know what the average homeownership is now, but you know, it's five to seven years, maybe. People don't do this on a daily basis the way we do and so they're not sophisticated and educated about this cyber fraud and rather than communicating with them via email it seems like a reliable form of communication is the good old-fashioned phone. Do you agree? Is that something real practical piece of advice? Steven Dougherty 39:01 You know for customers; this is not a muscle memory transaction for them. Just to put it out there, everybody puts disclaimers at the bottom of their email saying, “wire fraud is real.” Well, guess what? People don't read anything below your signature line in your email. They read the content. That's it, they're not reading and paying attention to that. So, you really have to engage your clients and customers on a very sort of vigorous basis. Tom, you agree that you should do it upfront and throughout the entire process. Let them know, this is the process, and fraud exists, this is how we combat it. Tom Cronkright 39:44 We didn't create this threat. The threat is not going away. It's only getting worse. So, what do we do in response? My argument has been to the industry, to my staff, to our community here in West Michigan primarily is that this isn't going to happen on our watch. And if it does happen, we as transaction participants as advisors, lending, real estate, title and closing that we've done everything we could. We met the standard of care as is being defined in the courts, unfortunately, federal and state as to what success looks like for a consumer to be protected. The challenge is we're not driving them to the bank. We're not over their shoulder when they're opening online banking. A lot of them are banking with an eBank and there's no bank branches. That's the other realization with this economy we're in. We're not in a good fun state. So, I don't have to take wires and if I put my title owner hat on, I don't have to take wires in for cash to close. Now don't have to send wires out, pursuant to the state of Michigan. But what I need to do is educate the consumer that this thread is out there. They can strike at any point and we're going to set you up for success. So, the first thing we do is when we issue the title commitment, we send our wiring instructions along with a wire fraud notice to every consumer. We send it through CertifID. You may even say I'm going to send it through secure email; however, you send it just make sure that you have confirmation that they're the ones that actually received it. Because in a vacuum you can say “Look, no wires only checks. Got it great. We'll see you at closing” and then they get tricked after and it's simply not enough. The other thing that we've done is educate them of the closing scheduled. “Hey, remember if you are going to wire only those instructions that were sent earlier can be trusted.” With regard to enrolling the real estate agents and the referral partners. This is the key. This is where you can multiply the message and multiply this yourself in this conversation because guess who they trust? They trust the real estate agent because they're typically the one driving the traffic. You're being fed off them. Everyone is kind of beholden or codependent on the real estate agent. There's an opportunity there that at the agency formation, this knowledge transfer takes place. So, through notices, we've provided what we call a “day zero document” that our real estate agents put in Dotloop and DocuSign that we have the customer sign because they might start working with a buyer six weeks ago trying to find houses. We've been involved in wire fraud recoveries where the purchase agreement wasn't even countersigned by the seller in the entire cash to close amount was wired to a fraudster by the buyer. Purchase Agreement wasn't even consummated yet. That's how early they can get approached. So, educating the real estate agent, you know, showing them what you're doing to protect the consumer to protect them, and then getting them as part of the lexicon of how they do their business. Wire fraud becomes this conversational piece, not something that we hide behind or act like it's not happening. That in my opinion, is how you drive sustainable engagement. You can't do it all yourself. Melissa Jay Murphy 43:16 Interesting. I think thiss has been an incredible source of information. So, thank you to Tom and Steven. I think that we might have raised some questions that we have not been able to answer and those have been reflected in the chat. So, what I am going to try to do along with my team is look at the issues and questions created by the chat. Review the information that Tom and Steven have shared with us. Try to make some organizational sense to it and try to push something out to Fund Members to update them on the best way to deal with this. Nothing about what you do when you realize there's been a crime is really different than what's on our website right now, Fund Members. We have the IC3 website. The Secret Service connection is something that's a little bit new. And so, we're definitely going to add that kind of information to our webpage. https://www.thefund.com/information-center/information-security.aspx Steven, so thank you for that. Steven Dougherty 44:35 On that website, you can actually go back to do investigations. And there's actually numerous pieces, there's PDFs, there's documents that help prepare for a cyber incident and give updated information on cyber stuff that you can definitely pull down and link to on your website. www.ic3.gov Melissa Jay Murphy 44:54 We will definitely look into that. So, with that I am going to thank Tom and Steven again. I'm going to thank all of you 190 people that participated in this webinar. Thank you so much for your time and attention. Don't forget we're going to push this out on the podcast. And so that's another way you can listen to this webinar again in the information. We will make sense of the comments and information that has been posted in the chats and push that out to you. And as I always do when I wrap up one of these is thank you above all, thank you for your support of The Fund.
In this episode, we discuss a recent FBI report on cybercrime, and then we talk about the recent Ronin Bridge hack on Axie Infinity, and we get super deep into discussing the game, rather than the hack. Oops? Article 1 - Cybercriminals made $7bn in pure profit in 2021, says FBISupporting Articles:FBI Releases the Internet Crime Complaint Center 2021 Internet Crime ReportOrganizations paid at least $602 million to ransomware gangs in 2021 Article 2 - $625M stolen from Axie Infinity ‘s Ronin bridge, the largest ever crypto hackSupporting Articles:Who Hurts Most in $600 Million Axie Heist? ‘Not the Venture Capitalists’How much do you earn playing axie infinity?Community Alert: Ronin Validators Compromised If you found this interesting or useful, please follow us on Twitter @serengetisec and subscribe and review on your favorite podcast app!
Speaking with Mark Batchelor, a cyber security expert, talks to us about the scams that are out there, how to avoid them and what to do if you have been scammed.https://scamspotter.org/https://www.ic3.gov/ Internet Crime Complaint Center
Alex Quilici, Robocall Scam Expert of YouMail, discusses how unwanted robocalls are becoming more targeted and the psychology behind some of the worst calls, Joe and Dave share some listener follow up, Joe's story comes from listener Derek who shares how his aunt avoided a scam which wasn't very obvious at first, and Dave's story is about how the FBI released its annual Internet Crime Complaint Center Internet Crime Report for 2021, our catch of the day comes from listener John who shares how he got a new interesting Instagram follower. Links to stories: FBI Releases the Internet Crime Complaint Center 2021 Internet Crime Report Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@thecyberwire.com or hit us up on Twitter.
The pandemic accelerated tech adoption by people over the age of 60 so that they could stay connected to their closest loved ones during lockdowns. However, in 2020, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported 28 percent of the total fraud losses were sustained by victims over the age of 60, which equates to roughly $1 billion USD. In this episode, Claudette explores cyber security concerns for those over the age of 60, and what we can all do to keep them protected. She sits down with Laura Tamblyn Watts, the founder and CEO of Canada's national seniors' advocacy organization CanAge, to learn key cyber security tips for vulnerable adults. Also during the episode, listeners will hear from the mother of four professional tennis players, Patricia Jensen, who recently experienced a potential cyber attack first-hand.
Romance Scams leave people financially broke and broken hearted. The scams are on the rise. Be aware! HELP RESOURCES: • Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov • Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ftc.gov/complaint. • FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov • local FBI field office SOURCES: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-you-need-know-about-romance-scams https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/investigations/st-louis-woman-swindled-1-million-romance-scammer/63-b20dee0e-200d-46ee-bf29-fcccc563811e https://www.counteringcrime.org/online-crimes/criminals-exploit-social-media-for-romance-scams?gclid=CjwKCAiAwKyNBhBfEiwA_mrUMoRAPhTmCVe4yvpssCPjIKxi-KYLjXaLykvsmq2sPtboqoq-TLLOSRoCCocQAvD_BwE https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx/pr/11-romance-scammers-charged-money-laundering-wire-fraud-conspiracies https://www.ag.state.mn.us/consumer/publications/onlinedatingromancescams.asp https://www.secretservice.gov/romancescams https://www.investright.org/blog/empowered-investing/from-crush-to-crushed-the-reality-of-romance-scams/ https://www.counteringcrime.org/online-crimes/criminals-exploit-social-media-for-romance-scams?gclid=CjwKCAiAwKyNBhBfEiwA_mrUMoRAPhTmCVe4yvpssCPjIKxi-KYLjXaLykvsmq2sPtboqoq-TLLOSRoCCocQAvD_BwE … Romance Scams Read More »
In this episode of the iCantCU Podcast, I talk about how I was scammed out of nearly $5000. It was an email scam that I thought originated from the President of the NFB of PA. It didn't. Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/138 An Email Scam Can Happen To You Even with my limited sight, I thought I could never be a victim of such a scam. Clearly, I was wrong. According to a report from the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, people lost $57 million to email scams in one year. Verify Before You Send Money My wanting to help and my quick actions are what did me in. I should've called to follow up before taking action. It just sounded so legit, though. Reach Out On Social Media Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Get In Touch If you've got questions, comments, or show ideas, I want to hear from you! Call (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Include your name and town and let me know if it is okay to use your voice on an upcoming episode. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com
How to Avoid Online Phishing Attacks, Pt 2 (with our Expert)How To Recognize PhishingScammers use email or text messages to trick you into giving them your personal information. They may try to steal your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. If they get that information, they could gain access to your email, bank, or other accounts. Scammers launch thousands of phishing attacks like these every day — and they're often successful. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that people lost $57 million to phishing schemes in one year.Scammers often update their tactics, but there are some signs that will help you recognize a phishing email or text message.Phishing emails and text messages may look like they're from a company you know or trust.They may look like they're from a bank, a credit card company, a social networking site, an online payment website or app, or an online store.Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. They maysay they've noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attemptsclaim there's a problem with your account or your payment informationsay you must confirm some personal informationinclude a fake invoicewant you to click on a link to make a paymentsay you're eligible to register for a government refundoffer a coupon for free stuffHere's a real-world example of a phishing email.
Business Email Compromise, or BEC, is a type of scam that utilizes social engineering to trick companies into paying fraudulent invoices or giving up sensitive information that can be used for a future attack. Malware, phishing, BEC, and thread hijacking. The “baddies,” as one of today's guests charmingly anoints them, utilize these deep, complicated attacks because the rewards are so very great - in 2019, stats from the Internet Crime Complaint Center showed losses over $1.7 billion. Join host Sherrod DeGrippo for part one of this in-depth discussion, as she talks through various current threats and how companies can defend against them with email fraud defense experts Robert Holmes, Sr. Director of Threat Research and Detection, and Sam Scholten, CISSP Staff Email Fraud Research, of Proofpoint. Here's a sneak peek: - Learn the signs of suspicious emails - Threat actors are putting a high amount of energy into today's scams - BEC is a global problem - Stricter financial controls can help your company along with EFD To hear more episodes like this one, subscribe to Protecting People on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform.
Each week we take a look at the most recent and interesting events and trends related to data security and privacy. Today we're going to take a stroll through the FBI's annual report on cybercrime. It's been 21 years since the Bureau's Internet Crime Complaint Center or IC3 was formed to track cyber-crime. Read more: https://www.idtheftcenter.org/fbi-report-shows-a-sharp-cybercrime-increase-over-the-last-five-years/ Follow on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/idtheftcenter/ Follow on Twitter: twitter.com/IDTheftCenter
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 791,000 complaints in 2020—a record number, representing a 69% increase over 2019. Join us for an in-depth discussion as we examine details of the report with FBI’s Cyber Division's Deputy Assistant Director Herb Stapleton. Speakers: Herb Stapleton, Deputy Assistant Director, Cyber Division, FBI Kacy Zurkus, Content Strategist, RSA Conference
In this episode of The Gate 15 Interview, Andy Jabbour talks with James Whalen, SVP, Chief Information & Technology Officer, Boston Properties. In this podcast we address: Jim's background Changes in facilities; changes in security Threats facing facilities and broader implications Security and collaboration And more! James Whalen: James Whalen serves as Senior Vice President, Chief Information & Technology Officer for Boston Properties where he is responsible for the direction and implementation of technology services and solutions. Prior to joining the Company in March 1998, he served as Vice President, Information Systems of Beacon Properties. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and a recipient of the New York City Urban Fellowship. Mr. Whalen is a current trustee and past President of the Boston Chapter of the Society for Information Management (SIM) and serves on the Real Estate Cyber Consortium, Realcomm Advisory Council, Commercial Facilities Cyber Working Group, TechHire Boston and Boston Private Industry Council. LinkedIn. A few references mentioned in or relevant to our discussion include: · The Real Estate Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RE-ISAC). “The Real Estate Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RE-ISAC), a not-for-profit information sharing entity organized by The Real Estate Roundtable in February 2003, is a public-private partnership between the US commercial facilities sector and federal homeland security officials which serves as the primary conduit of terrorism, cyber and natural hazard warning and response information between the government and the commercial facilities sector.” · InfraGardNCR: Commercial Facilities Cyber Working Group (CCWG) · FBI IC3 Cyber Crime Report: FBI Releases the Internet Crime Complaint Center 2020 Internet Crime Report & PDF: 2020 Internet Crime Report, 17 Mar 21 · Palo Alto Networks: Highlights from the 2021 Unit 42 Ransomware Threat Report & Ransomware Threat Assessments: A Companion to the 2021 Unit 42 Ransomware Threat Report, 17 Mar 21 · Group-IB: ransomware empire prospers in pandemic-hit world. Attacks grow by 150%, 04 Mar 21 · Realcomm Advisory Council
Show Description With the holidays fast approaching. Meaghan, George, and Leslie discuss methods for keeping yourself safe while shopping in stores and online. They discuss the added need to be aware of and practice safety protocols during COVID 19 as well as how to look out for such things as; porch pirates who try to steal your packages, online scams, and your social media exposure. For more information about online shopping safety, visit the FBI's 12 Days of Online Safety Tips. If you do become a victim of cyber crime, the FBI asks victims to report cybercrime immediately to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center or the local FBI office. For tips on protecting your home and yourself during the holidays, check out the Washington Metropolitan Police Department's page. We would like to take this time to wish a very heartfelt Happy Holidays to all our listeners and we look forward to bringing you more new shows in the new year. We are taking the month of December off, but you can look for our next show to be released on February 6th. Again, Happy Holidays and stay safe. Providing Feedback We want to hear from you, so please send an email to feedback@handsonsafety.net. You can follow us on Facebook and Twitter. . Soon, you will also be able to find us on the web, for resources and other safety related topics.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, has taken an increasingly prominent role in the day to day cyber defense of organizations and institutions here in the U.S., and globally as well. Through the establishment of the IC3, the Internet Crime Complaint Center, the FBI provides an invaluable public resource for prevention, response, and mitigation of cyber threats to businesses and public organizations of all sizes. Joining us this week is FBI cyber division section chief Herb Stapleton. He shares his journey toward a mission-based career in public service, as well as his insights on the FBI's ongoing efforts to form lasting partnerships with the people they serve.
Recorded Future - Inside Threat Intelligence for Cyber Security
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, has taken an increasingly prominent role in the day to day cyber defense of organizations and institutions here in the U.S., and globally as well. Through the establishment of the IC3, the Internet Crime Complaint Center, the FBI provides an invaluable public resource for prevention, response, and mitigation of cyber threats to businesses and public organizations of all sizes. Joining us this week is FBI cyber division section chief Herb Stapleton. He shares his journey toward a mission-based career in public service, as well as his insights on the FBI’s ongoing efforts to form lasting partnerships with the people they serve.
According to Statista, in 2018, 16,128 cases of online identity theft and 65,116 cases of non-payment or non-delivery fraud were reported to the U.S. Internet Crime Complaint Center. But cybercrime has not always been this prevalent in our lives. Though it is hard to imagine in today's modern world, there was a time before computers where cybercrime wasn't considered a threat. To understand how cybercrime has evolved from nothing to the ubiquitous threat that it is today, we spoke with Cindy Murphy, a retired cybercrime police officer, and the president and founder of Tetra Defense. Brought up around computers at an early age thanks to her father, who taught her how to use DOS and file systems when she was six, Murphy had a technological advantage when it came to her peers. This was evident in high school, she was told she must submit her essay in written form instead of a word processor as it was considered cheating and gave her an unfair advantage. Murphy then went on to serve 31-years in the police force helping to combat cybercrime across the US, before leaving the police force with one year left until retirement. Murphy was offered a very large offer to work for a private company, which she turned down. The company continued to increase the offer, and she continued to turn them down. It wasn't until she was invited to see what they were working on in their forensic lab that made her retire from the police force, almost immediately. They showed her something she "thought was impossible". To find out what they showed her, along with some interesting cybercrime stories along the way, check out this episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast.
Adam and Jason get a groove. Congrats to DACA, Dreamers, and every American. Times are changing. Black Lives Matter, LGBTQIA, In 2020 are finally getting their rights. Thank you Donald trump for making us more aware . If issues are important to know, aren’t they equally important to teach, We call on the educated expert community to come join us to tell us about what they know best. Ghost nets are a real problem. How do two uneducated guys get those messages out without you? Call for conversation. Brain injury month. Discussion of domestic abuse and or controlling relationships. Email us at publicaccessamerica@gmail.com. Whats going on in Washington State? Wait! Whats a furlough? Wait what about the rainy day fund, how does that tie in to truth in Washington Politics. How is help fort the people actually being blocked, and why. How does that affect the homelessness situation, What is the breakdown facts and statistics around the homelessness myths and actual facts based on experience. “You think about the criminal, I think of the victim”, How can the idea of “Defund The police” and the facts of that offer the remedy for homelessness. What does defund the police mean, what is the intent behind the headline. And a beginning opening conversation to understand the truth and avoid the rhetoric. Lots of fun Plenty of conversation. Eggplants and peaches, Romance scammers. Shoutouts. All while staying on topics, and relating life to everything going on in the world today. What happened at Wendys? Is this a Life for life situation? Are we over taxing our police officers? Or should we pay them more and ask them to be our Uber Eats as well? Adam offers his music suggestion of the week. Which is a great little conversation, I think Jason’s movie suggestion was Gandhi. Rayshard Brooks You will be missed. Report a Scam-Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. Internet Crime Complaint Center. TTY, 1-866-653-4261. https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
Alex, Harrison, and Rick discuss this year’s FBI IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center) report. In 2019, the FBI responded to over 460,000 complaints and observed estimated losses of over $3.5 billion across all instances of reported cybercrime. In comparison, there were over 350,000 complaints and $2.7 billion in losses, as reported in the previous year’s 2018 IC3 report. That’s a 33% increase in the number of reports and a 30% increase in total reported losses from 2018 to 2019. The team covers: - Business Email Compromise - Phishing - Reported Financial Losses skyrocketing for victims under 20 - Ransomware Check out our blog for more here: https://www.digitalshadows.com/blog-and-research/ Check out the full FBI IC3 report here: https://pdf.ic3.gov/2019_IC3Report.pdf
Each year, businesses are losing $12-$13 billion dollars because of cybercrime. One criminal tool is called the Business E-mail Compromise (BEC), aka “The Man in the Middle Attack.” It begins when criminals use information, like that readily found on social media platforms, to target an employee. The criminal may phone or email the employee, gain their trust, steal their identity, compromise and access their emails and the business network (including human resources, banking and client accounts) and so on, all for the ultimate goal of stealing large sums of money.In this podcast, Stacy Arruda, a cybersecurity threat specialist, provides insight on how individuals and businesses can better protect themselves against cybercriminals and take steps to prevent criminals from stealing their money or exploitation them in other ways. BECs have seen a 1300% increase since 2015, and, as Arruda says, “it’s no longer a question of 'if,' it’s 'when,' and not just 'when' but when you discover that the bad guys are inside your network.” Businesses have options and they begin with training employees and reporting problems quickly. Having a strong corporate culture that trains employees about proper handling of emails, account security, personal information, and reporting can make a tremendous difference.Stacy Arruda is a former FBI supervisory special agent with more than 20 years of experience in cybersecurity and counterintelligence.She is the CEO of the ARRUDA Group, a cyber threat consultancy firm, and the Executive Director of the not-for-profit Florida Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (FL-ISAO).Stacy details how cyber criminals use social media to profile potential victims, building trust to gain access to networks. Anyone can be a target, and cybercriminals do their homework by connecting the dots to gain access to large payouts.Arruda notes that women, in particular, seem to overshare information on social media, nearly every aspect of their lives, and it’s a problem. As an educator and speaker, Arruda speaks on how women can better safeguard their information, warning that online activity can escalate to physical threats and exploitation.Children can also be targeted. Predators can use simple techniques to lure information from children and they can cross-reference social media to gain information about the family. Gaining a real name online can have a criminal scrolling a family’s social media profile and readily finding things like an email, place of work, child’s school, and after-school activities. Monitoring a child’s online activity and restricting shared information is important to the entire family’s safety.The business email compromise,(BEC), also known as “The Man in the Middle Attack,” is a cybersecurity scam that is typically short-lived and aimed at stealing information and money. “Once they send that email, and you click on that email, the bad guy has a lot of avenues that they can go down. Once they're sitting on the network, they can steal data, they can introduce ransomware and shut down the network. They can sit on the computers and they can wait for invoices to come in and wait for payments and steal money,” states Arruda.Well-organized criminals, terrorists and spies use the information that is innocuously shared by us to gain our trust so that they can:Target email attacksAccess compromised emails and files anywhere on the networkAccess human resourcesAccess business accounts, such as bankingDisguise themselves as business representativesDisguise themselves as clientsAuthorize wire transfers to accounts all over the worldChange account routing information in a record or during a transactionArruda recommends that companies should have security drills, much like fire drills, to implement a response plan and reinforce the company’s culture on security.The FBI has a unit called the Recovery Asset Team, where companies can report a compromise for the possibility of freezing accounts to stop the wire transfer. Time is of the essence relative to how quickly a bank will process a wire transfer; two weeks is far too long, and the money will likely be unrecoverable.SOME KEY POINTS:Security is often a failure because of two factors:Human error, such as misconfiguring software, oversharing information, lack of training on how to spot and report criminal activity, andConvenience, such as not taking the time to update system patches, using multifactor authentication, and using our own records to contact clients versus using information found in their email.For the individual, Arruda shares that human error and oversharing can be the gateway to being compromised. Having system patches up-to-date, strong passwords, and reducing one’s cyber footprint, such as oversharing personal details or falling for scams because they know our likes and dislikes, can be key to preventing cybersecurity threats at home.Defense-in-Depth is a tactic that individuals can use to protect themselves. Having our systems patched, running a firewall, running antivirus software scans, using strong passwords are examples of how an individual or business can add layers of defense against cyber criminals.An untrained employee is a liability and changing company culture to encourage calls to higher-ups to confirm requested transactions is a must.BEC - 1300% increase since 2015, and it’s getting worse because “it’s an easy way for criminals to make a lot of money quickly” and defense-in-depth is one way to hinder BEC criminals.Posting on the internet so openly, especially on social media, is creating opportunities for criminals to target and manipulate individuals. Controlling your footprint on the internet is vital, and being elusive may discourage a criminal from targeting someone.Businesses can also add a layer of protection by not sharing/oversharing personal information about their employees, such as the CEO is married to so-and-so and their children’s names are Tom, Becky, and Mike and their ages. Criminals profile and store this information, and this creates unnecessary risk.The FL-ISAO, which helps to build cyber resilience for the state of Florida, has an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to encourage removing the corporate stigma of sharing information to prevent data breaches, hacking, cyber incidents, cyberattacks, and other cybercrimes. Trends show that reporting to the Internet Crime Complaint Center has increased and more and more victims are willingly coming forward. While this is critical, more can be done so the FL-ISAO is expanding to provide training, tips and business support to prevent cybercrimes. Organizations can contact Arruda via www.flisao.org or via email at info@arrudagroup.com TIME STAMPS1:00 About Stacy Arruda, Cybersecurity Expert1: 38 Oversharing on Social Media Can Compromise Your Security2: 51 Using Email to Breach Your Network6:41 Reporting Cyber Incidents & Breaches – Time Matters7:14 Using Defense-In-Depth to Stop Cyber Crimes9: 11 How Convenience Can Cost Billions9:50 Human Error: A Major Factor in Cybercrime12:41 BEC Crimes19:00 Cybercrime Rings Stole $11 Million21:28 Victims, Including Businesses, Should Break the Silence22:26 Building a Corporate Cyber Culture to Stop Data Breaches & Cyber Crimes27:08 Women: Targets of Cyber Crime30:22 Cybercriminals Targeting Children35:52 Florida Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (FL-ISAO)
New FBI Internet Crime Report - How to Protect Yourself!On April 22, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, the IC3, released its annual 2018 report on Internet reported crime statistics for 2014 through 2018.Here are some key findings:- Internet-enabled theft, fraud, and exploitation remain pervasive and were responsible for a staggering $2.7 billion in financial losses in 2018. Reported losses for 2015 totaled less than $1.1 billion; this means reported losses have nearly tripled in three short years. - IC3 received 351,936 complaints in 2018—an average of more than 900 every day. - The age group most at risk were those over 50 years of age.- The most frequently reported complaints were for non-payment/non-delivery scams, extortion, and personal data breaches. Scams included email compromises, romance / confidence frauds, and investment / pyramid / Ponzi schemes. - Bright spots reported by the IC3 include the establishment in February 2018 of the Recovery Asset Team and its success in recovering funds lost in business email compromise scams. The team was able to successfully recover more than $192 million in funds—a recovery rate of 75 percent.- According to Donna Gregory, the IC3 Chief, “The 2018 report shows how prevalent these crimes are. It also shows that the financial toll is substantial and a victim can be anyone who uses a connected device.”- To increase recovery chances, it is imperative victims contact their bank and IC3 immediately. - The IC3 website provides a list of scams along with avoidance tips. Visit: https:/www.ic3.govcrimeschemes.aspx- Preventive actions include keeping hardware and software updated and protected by anti-virus programs and strong passwords, learning to recognize suspicious messages, and researching and verifying the legitimacy of every offer, person, message, or opportunity presented online. You’ll find more prevention tips at https://www.ic3.govpreventiontips.aspxSteve Carter, the show’s host, recommends ongoing vigilance to help ensure online safety to include verifying the source of any and all emails asking you to click a link. Change passwords frequently. While not covered in the podcast, using a password tool such as LastPass https://www.lastpass.com/ can enhance online security. See “PC Magazine” review of password managershttps://www.pcmag.com/roundup300318/the-best-password-managersTo report an Internet related crime, go to https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspxSummary news release: https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/ic3-releases-2018-internet-crime-report-042219To download the full report, go to https://www.ic3.gov/media/annualreport/2018_IC3Report.pdfTo contact the show, subscribe, or listen to previous episodes, go to http://SafeLivingToday.com
New FBI Internet Crime Report - How to Protect Yourself!On April 22, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, the IC3, released its annual 2018 report on Internet reported crime statistics for 2014 through 2018.Here are some key findings:- Internet-enabled theft, fraud, and exploitation remain pervasive and were responsible for a staggering $2.7 billion in financial losses in 2018. Reported losses for 2015 totaled less than $1.1 billion; this means reported losses have nearly tripled in three short years. - IC3 received 351,936 complaints in 2018—an average of more than 900 every day. - The age group most at risk were those over 50 years of age.- The most frequently reported complaints were for non-payment/non-delivery scams, extortion, and personal data breaches. Scams included email compromises, romance / confidence frauds, and investment / pyramid / Ponzi schemes. - Bright spots reported by the IC3 include the establishment in February 2018 of the Recovery Asset Team and its success in recovering funds lost in business email compromise scams. The team was able to successfully recover more than $192 million in funds—a recovery rate of 75 percent.- According to Donna Gregory, the IC3 Chief, “The 2018 report shows how prevalent these crimes are. It also shows that the financial toll is substantial and a victim can be anyone who uses a connected device.”- To increase recovery chances, it is imperative victims contact their bank and IC3 immediately. - The IC3 website provides a list of scams along with avoidance tips. Visit: https:/www.ic3.govcrimeschemes.aspx- Preventive actions include keeping hardware and software updated and protected by anti-virus programs and strong passwords, learning to recognize suspicious messages, and researching and verifying the legitimacy of every offer, person, message, or opportunity presented online. You’ll find more prevention tips at https://www.ic3.govpreventiontips.aspxSteve Carter, the show’s host, recommends ongoing vigilance to help ensure online safety to include verifying the source of any and all emails asking you to click a link. Change passwords frequently. While not covered in the podcast, using a password tool such as LastPass https://www.lastpass.com/ can enhance online security. See “PC Magazine” review of password managershttps://www.pcmag.com/roundup300318/the-best-password-managersTo report an Internet related crime, go to https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspxSummary news release: https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/ic3-releases-2018-internet-crime-report-042219To download the full report, go to https://www.ic3.gov/media/annualreport/2018_IC3Report.pdfTo contact the show, subscribe, or listen to previous episodes, go to http://SafeLivingToday.com
Retired agent Dale Miskell served in the FBI for 23 years. His assignments included the Sacramento Field Office, Washington Field Office, the Cyber Division's Internet Crime Complaint Center, and the Birmingham Field Office. In this episode of FBI Retired Case File Review, Dale is interviewed about the Internet Crime Complaint Center, known as IC3 and reviews his Nigerian re-shipping fraud case where individuals were recruited to receive merchandise at their place of residence and repackage the items for shipment to Nigeria. Unbeknownst to them, the merchandise was purchased with fraudulent credit cards. Dale Miskell traveled to Lagos, Nigeria to train police officers to investigate re-shipping fraud and assisted in the first ever arrests and prosecution in Nigerian courts of on-line cyber scams. While at Birmingham, home base to more than 430 cleared defense contractors, Dale Miskell supervised the Cyber Crime Squad and developed an expertise in targeting and combatting the computer hacking processes of advanced persistent threat actors. He also established and led one of the FBI's first Cyber-Counterintelligence Task Forces.
The Social Network Show welcomes the National Crime Prevention Council Series with Co-host Michelle Boykins, Senior Director of Communications and her guest, Tom Wilson from the Police Executive Research Forum. Tom Wilson tells us about the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) which is an independent research organization that focuses on critical issues in policing with the goal of improving police deliverance. With the increasing concern about cyber crime, agencies like PERF are needed to help law enforcement fight it. In this episode, you will hear about what PERF is accomplishing regarding this issue including the development of a cyber center for law enforcement; how police agencies around the country are dealing with the increasing incidence of cyber crime; who is behind cyber crime; and where to go for preventive tips or if you are a victim of cyber crime. Mr. Wilson recommends looking at the following websites: StaySafeOnline and Internet Crime Complaint Center. Tom Wilson joined PERF in February 2013 and serves as Deputy Director of the Management Services Division. Previously, Mr. Wilson served for almost 24 years with the Anne Arundel County, MD Police Deparment, retiring as a Major. As Major, Mr. Wilson served in command of both the Patrol Services and Administrative Services Bureaus. His prior commands included the Anne Arundel County Police Department's four district police stations; the community relations division; the county 911 center (PSAP); homeland security and intelligence; departmental technology and integration; development and oversight of the departmental budget; strategic planning; the training academy; police personnel; accreditation; the crime lab; evidence collection; departmental fleet; and the county animal control section. As Captain, Mr. Wilson was appointed to serve almost three years as the Anne Arundel County Director of Emergency Management. His responsibilities included: developing and maintaining a comprehensive emergency management program for all hazards, design of the county's Emergency Operations Plan, compliance with the national Incident Management System, implementation of the Incident Command System into all aspects of county government, and oversight of federal and state homeland security funding. Throughout his career, Mr. Wilson has served in almost all aspects of policing, including patrol, training, narcotics and major investigations. He has received extensive training in a variety of law enforcement, crisis management and emergency management matters. Mr. Wilson holds a Master of Science in Administration and a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice. Learn more about Tom at PERF
Heading to the Internet is a great way to get a great deal on just about anything. However, it can also be a way for scammers to take advantage of you. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center says scammers are catching shoppers in their web of deception with fraudulent vehicle sales and false vehicle protection claims. Most people use Facebook just to catch up with old friends. But one man decided to use the social media site as a way to steal thousands of dollars. A judge sentenced Iain Wood to 15 months in jail for stealing $57,000 from various people on Facebook. Wood allegedly spent up to 18 hours a day online scrutinizing profiles. Apple Incorporated is in yet another battle. This time HTC Corporation filed a trade complaint at the U.S. International Trade Commission seeking to block imports of Apple’s iPhone, iPad and Mac computers. HTC is Asia’s second largest maker of smartphones and filed the complaint in Washington today.
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