Category Archives: security freeze

Govt. Cybersecurity Contractor Hit in W-2 Phishing Scam

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Just a friendly reminder that phishing scams which spoof the boss and request W-2 tax data on employees are intensifying as tax time nears. The latest victim shows that even cybersecurity experts can fall prey to these increasingly sophisticated attacks.

On Thursday, March 16, the CEO of Defense Point Security, LLP — a Virginia company that bills itself as “the choice provider of cyber security services to the federal government” — told all employees that their W-2 tax data was handed directly to fraudsters after someone inside the company got caught in a phisher’s net. Continue reading Govt. Cybersecurity Contractor Hit in W-2 Phishing Scam→

A Life or Death Case of Identity Theft?

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Identity thieves have perfected a scam in which they impersonate existing customers at retail mobile phone stores, pay a small cash deposit on pricey new phones, and then charge the rest to the victim’s account. In most cases, switching on the new phones causes the victim account owner’s phone(s) to go dead. This is the story of a Pennsylvania man who allegedly died of a heart attack because his wife’s phone was switched off by ID thieves and she was temporarily unable to call for help. Continue reading A Life or Death Case of Identity Theft?→

SSA: Ixnay on txt msg reqmnt 4 e-acct, sry

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The U.S. Social Security Administration says it is reversing a newly enacted policy that required a cell phone number from all Americans who wished to manage their retirement benefits at ssa.gov. The move comes after a policy rollout marred by technical difficulties and criticism that the new requirement did little to prevent identity thieves from siphoning benefits from Americans who hadn’t yet created accounts at ssa.gov for themselves. Continue reading SSA: Ixnay on txt msg reqmnt 4 e-acct, sry→

Social Security Administration Now Requires Two-Factor Authentication

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The U.S. Social Security Administration announced Friday that it will now require a cell phone number from all Americans who wish to manage their retirement benefits at ssa.gov. Unfortunately, the new security measure does little to prevent identity thieves from fraudulently creating online accounts to siphon benefits from Americans who haven’t yet created accounts for themselves. Continue reading Social Security Administration Now Requires Two-Factor Authentication→

IRS Re-Enables ‘Get Transcript’ Feature

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The Internal Revenue Service has re-enabled a service on its Web site that allows taxpayers to get a copy of their previous year’s tax transcript. The renewed effort to beef up taxpayer authentication methods at irs.gov comes more than a year after the agency disabled the transcript service because tax refund fraudsters were using it to steal sensitive data on consumers. Continue reading IRS Re-Enables ‘Get Transcript’ Feature→

From Stolen Wallet to ID Theft, Wrongful Arrest

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It’s remarkable how quickly a stolen purse or wallet can morph into full-blow identity theft, and possibly even result in the victim’s wrongful arrest. All of the above was visited recently on a fellow infosec professional whose admitted lapse in physical security lead to a mistaken early morning arrest in front of his kids. Continue reading From Stolen Wallet to ID Theft, Wrongful Arrest→