Jen* is one of the few people that opens and reads every piece of mail they receive. It’s a quirk that has paid off: A piece of junk mail is how Jen found out someone had stolen her identity. “I opened a letter from Macy’s, which I thought was weird,” she said. “I haven’t shopped there in years. But the letter was a rejection of a credit card application.” Jen took immediate action, placing a credit […]
Victims of the Equifax data hack, please sit tight. I’d hate to see people paying money for the wrong thing. That’s already happening to people like, John, in Texas, who ended up regretting his purchase of a $19.95 credit monitoring subscription. Also, I think eventually the right thing is going to happen and consumers will be able to freeze their credit reports—for free. There is, finally, momentum in that direction. If you are sure you don’t need […]
Some time ago, the popular show Mythbusters wanted to find out if the Lone Ranger was right about silver bullets being better than lead ones. Turns out silver bullets are actually slower and less accurate. When it comes to cybersecurity, quick-fix silver bullets are also less effective than tried-and-true approaches. The most effective cybersecurity strategies begin with two certainties: mistakes will be made, and breaches like the one that hit Equifax will keep happening. The 143 million consumers exposed […]
Even when online retailers strive to keep customer information safe, data breaches happen. Hackers and thieves are constantly working to gain access to your sensitive data, including credit card numbers. Data breaches are on the rise and could cost businesses $8 trillion over the next five years. But some credit card issuers, like Bank of America and Citibank, offer virtual card numbers to help you protect your credit card information when you shop online. These virtual card numbers are […]
Everyone knows a mosquito bite doesn’t really start itching until the damage has already been done, and the same goes for many kinds of identity-related crimes. With news of the recent Equifax breach continuing to surface, what do you need to know now to limit your exposure? Equifax has estimated the hack impacts 143 million people, mostly in the United States. (That’s almost half the US population!) The thieves stole names, Social Security numbers, birth […]
It started off as a fake invitation to a New Year’s Eve party, emailed to energy section employees. It ended with hackers taking screen shots of power grid control computer screens. Well, we can only hope it ended there. “The energy sector in Europe and North America is being targeted by a new wave of cyber attacks that could provide attackers with the means to severely disrupt affected operations,” Symantec wrote in its report. Symantec Corp. released an alarming report last week claiming […]
Until murky details are cleared up, follow best practices for protecting personal information Equifax needs to start answering questions, fast. And this better be a turning point in consumer rights around use and storage of their personal information. It’s not even clear from the PR-worded statement that 143 million Social Security numbers were stolen, though that’s the clear implication. All we know is most Americans are “potentially” impacted. A bunch of driver’s license numbers were stolen, too. Really, all we […]
With Venmo being one of the most popular ways to send money, it makes sense to wonder what’s keeping your personal data and digital wallet safe. Venmo has made strides to improve its security in the past two years, but here’s the short answer to how safe Venmo is—protecting yourself comes almost entirely down to you. How to Keep Your Personal Info Safe on Venmo It takes only five minutes to make your Venmo account […]
You’ve seen the dramatic footage of rescues and calamities, shots of stranded families, pets, and wildlife—even giant carp—and you’ve probably had the same reaction many other Americans had the past few weeks: “How can I help?” There are myriad ways you can ease the suffering and hardship being experienced in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, but there are also a number of pitfalls to watch out for. It is quite easy to fall prey to […]
Device lets you block your browsing habits, keep online life private Consumers’ digital trails—from their browsing and social media habits to search-engine inquiries—are a boon to financial institutions, which can use this treasure trove of data to analyze borrowing risk and other factors. More than 3,000 services worldwide track and gather this data, aggregating and selling it for banks’ use, unbeknown to consumers. “The trackers are gathering our browsing habits down to our mouse movement and […]
Adam Levin on the Tipping Point
Cyberattacks: Fake News or Real Concern?
Adam Levin – Keynote Privacy Xchange Conference 2015
Adam Levin on the Security Brief
Cyberwarfare is the new U.S. battle
Adam Levin discusses Swiped on Fox & Friends
Adam Levin on Ashley Madison Breach: Come Clean
Inside the Worse-Than-Thought IRS Data Breach
Fallout from massive government data breach?
Premera Warned By Government Weeks Before Hacking
Marc Weber Tobias and Adam Levin on Identity Theft
Identity Theft: The Latest Ways to Protect Yourself
Clinton: There was no classified info in my emails
How to Prevent a Car Hack Attack
Invasion of Privacy by Your TV?
The Centcom Twitter Hack
Adam Levin’s 2015 Privacy Predictions
Adam Levin on Apple Pay
Did an Internet Security Bug Put Your Information at Risk?
News Nation with Tamron Hall on the Nude Celebrity Photo Hacks
Can Security Keep Up with the March of Technology?
Did an Internet Security Bug Put Your Information at Risk?
CNBC on the Heartbleed SSL Flaw: Is Your Online Spending Safe?
Adam Levin Talks with Sway about Identity Theft.
The Willis Report: Medical Identity Theft Is on the Rise
