Security News
Texas electric utility Austin Energy today warned of unknown individuals impersonating the company and threatening customers over the phone that their power will be cut off unless they pay fictitious overdue bills. During these ongoing scam attempts, the scammers warn the customers that their utilities will be disconnected if they don't make immediate payments, "Typically using a reloadable prepaid debit card or other non-traceable form of payment."
The Internal Revenue Service has warned US tax professionals of identity thieves actively targeting them in a series of phishing attacks attempting to steal Electronic Filing Identification Numbers. Scammers started this ongoing phishing campaign right before the US tax season with the end goal of stealing both client data and tax preparers' identities.
While it's logical to assume seniors would be primary targets, a new report revealed that millennials were actually the most targeted demographic group of the more than 50 billion spam calls made in 2020. The increase in calls has enabled scammers to go ham on the unsuspecting, as they steal money and damage trust.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning of scammers actively posing as FBI representatives and threatening targets with fines and jail time unless they don't hand out personal and/or financial information. As the FBI warns, the agency has received multiple reports of such scam attempts where the fraudsters are targeting North Florida residents attempting to steal their personal info.
The rollout of vaccines for the coronavirus has been a much-needed piece of good news following the devastating effects of the pandemic in 2020. A report published Thursday by fraud prevention company Bolster looks at the latest ways in which bad actors are capitalizing on the new vaccines.
Cybercriminals are taking advantage of a surge in dating app users with a sophisticated fraud scheme, which convinces victims to join in on an investment opportunity - and ultimately drains their wallets. "Interpol's Financial Crimes unit has received reports from around the world of this scam and is encouraging dating app users to be vigilant, be skeptical and be safe when entering into online relationships," according to Interpol, in a "Purple Notice" advisory sent to 194 countries.
The Interpol warns of fraudsters targeting dating app users and attempting to trick them into investing through fake trading apps. "In the initial stages, an artificial romance is established via a dating app. Once communication becomes regular and a certain level of trust is established, criminals share investment tips with their victims and encourage them to join a scheme."
Website owners are receiving emails threatening to ruin their reputation if they do not post a five-star review for a cryptocurrency exchange. Today, BleepingComputer received an extortion email through our contact form demanding we post a 5-star review and perform two likes/shares for the coinmama.com cryptocurrency exchange.
Website owners are receiving emails threatening to ruin their reputation if they do not post a five-star review for a cryptocurrency exchange. Today, BleepingComputer received an extortion email through our contact form demanding we post a 5-star review and perform two likes/shares for the coinmama.com cryptocurrency exchange.
The COVID-19 crisis enabled scammers to take advantage of the guileless, as bad actors were able to extract personal information from targets, according to a new report from First Orion. First Orion's Annual Phone Scam Call Report exposed how scammers were able to get 270% more personal information in 2020 than they did in 2019.