Earlier this week on Cyber Monday, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and its Security Summit partners warned taxpayers to approach their holiday shopping with extra caution because scammers are also shopping, for their next victim’s personal information. The consumer alert kicks off the ninth annual National Tax Security Awareness Week featuring tips for taxpayers and tax professionals to avoid scams and protect their sensitive data. The special week is part of the Security Summit initiati
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Happy Thanksgiving – lets go shopping. As we head into the rush of the holiday season, it can be easy to pay less attention to certain details like ADs promoting excessive discounts, unusual web addresses and text messages about undeliverable packages, which can all be signs of online shopping scams. Between October and December 2023, $95.2 million in losses from online shopping scams were reported to the US Federal Trade Commission by consumers, according to the New York State Department of S
The holiday shopping season is almost upon us, and with all the great sales and promotions come the usual cyber scams. While generally quick and convenient, shopping online can leave you vulnerable to scammers if you are not cautious. Based on a consumer survey, a new report from Norton looks at how scams are a common concern among shoppers and how to protect yourself while holiday shopping online.
Check out the 2024 Cyber Safety Insights Report.
Norton incorporated the results of a survey condu
Valentine's Day is a time when many people feel particularly vulnerable, but others also feel generous and giving. This makes it the perfect time for cybercriminals and fraudsters to operate.
The Cyber Helpline https://www.lighthousevictimcare.org/organisation/the-cyber-helpline/, a UK charity led by volunteers and staff from the cybersecurity industry, has expanded to the USA to support those experiencing cybercrime and online harm. The charity expects a considerable increase in online relatio
Online scams can be extremely damaging to an individual's finances and steal sensitive information that can be a nightmare to fix. In general, phishing scams will appear as innocent requests from online hackers, but if you follow their requests or hand over your Social Security information, then you should immediately contact your bank to ensure they do not open new accounts. These scammers tend to target senior citizens and can be difficult to avoid daily while using the Internet.
How to prot
It is tax time again in the US. And that means scammers are out there trying to steal your information. Targeting calendar-based events enables threat actors to prepare ahead of time and have a new selection of targets on rotation. This report covers a few examples of malware that take advantage of tax season. Although such attacks may seem repetitive to the casual observer, threat actors would not continue to target taxpayers if previous attacks had not been successful. And they were.[1]
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With minutes left in the holiday buying season, online shopping and gift-giving are at the top of many people's to-do lists. But before you hit the "buy" button, it is important to remember that this time of year is also the highest time for cybercriminals. Cybercriminals often increase their efforts during the traditional Christmas holidays and often take advantage of the flood of ‘new’ online shoppers and the general chaos of this buying time of year.
Do not let cybercriminals steal your ho
The State of NJ NJCCIC continues to receive reports of stolen cryptocurrency and recently reported on observed tactics that often include the use of social engineering. The FBI issued a notification this week alerting financial institutions and investors that cybercriminals are creating fraudulent cryptocurrency investment apps to defraud cryptocurrency investors. The cybercriminals were observed contacting investors and convincing them to download fraudulent cryptocurrency investment mobile a
Proofpoint released a new report this week about fake job emails being sent by threat actors, noting that they are seeing nearly 4,000 similar phishing emails each day. Bad actors are using the promise of easy money to steal personal data or trick victims into committing money laundering. “These types of threats can cause people to lose their life savings or be tricked into participating in a criminal operation unknowingly,” said Proofpoint. “They are very concerning for universities especial
The US Department of Justice, FBI's Internet Crime Center (IC3) is warning that scammers are exploiting verification weaknesses in job-focused networking sites to post legitimate looking ads, capture personal information and steal money from job seekers. Scammers "continue to exploit security weaknesses on job recruitment websites to post fraudulent job postings in order to trick applicants into providing personal information or money," authorities warn in a new public service announcement. Se
It is the most wonderful time of the year… unless you get scammed. The holiday shopping season is in full swing, and so are fraudsters looking to steal your money and more. With more people shopping online, digital retailers make getting your holiday shopping done easy; you can buy what you need without going outside. It also comes with its own unique risks. Digital payment fraud has been growing with criminals paying special attention to the Black Friday shopping season.
“The total number of
As the 2020 tax preparation season begins in the US, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is warning that it is seeing more signs of cyber criminals spoofing the agency's domains and incorporating its logos and language into phishing campaigns. Authorities additionally are cautioning other fraud campaigns that spoof US government departments, with some using themes capitalizing on COVID-19 economic relief programs. A tempting lure to many.
During February 2020, the IRS published a notification t
