Tag Archive for: Holiday Scams

12 Days to a Safe Christmas: Day 1 – Prevent Holiday Identity Theft

Holiday Security Tips: On the first day of Christmas, my expert gave to me, the keys to secure my privacy.  

If I could give the world a gift this holiday season, it would be to make the world a safer place to trust. You deserve to know whether or not you can trust the politicians you elect, the advice you receive from your doctor and whether or not you can entrust your privacy to the websites and businesses you use every day.

Identity theft, cyber stalking, and “big data” surveillance—these byproducts of the information economy make it hard to rest easy. Every day in the news we hear about another scam, another breach of corporate data that victimizes more than 11 million Americans a year. But you don’t have to be a statistic!

 Solution: Give yourself a gift by paying attention to prevention.

Let me be totally clear: you do not need to fear information over-exposure if you protect yourself before you get hit. Here is the secret to making peace with the privacy of your sensitive information:

  • Adopt a preventative mindset and exercise before the information heart attack.
  • Re-accumulate privacy over time, changing habits one step at a time to regain what you’ve given away.
  • Make data privacy an attitude rather than a one-time checklist. Share with care, and only when totally necessary.

Over the next several weeks, Sileo.com will share 11 more tips on protecting your identity, your privacy and your hard-earned money during the holiday season. The 12 Days of Christmas will help you re-accumulate your privacy in time to be safe for whichever holiday you celebrate. Check back every few days for the next tip, or subscribe to the Sileo.com RSS feed.

In the meantime, happy shopping… and don’t stand under any pear trees (you can never trust those partridges)! On the second day of Christmas…


About Cybersecurity Keynote Speaker John Sileo

John Sileo is the founder and CEO of The Sileo Group, a cybersecurity think tank, in Lakewood, Colorado, and an award-winning author, keynote speaker and expert on technology, cybersecurity, and tech/life balance. He energizes conferences, corporate trainings and main-stage events by making security fun and engaging. His clients include the Pentagon, Schwab, and organizations of all sizes. John got started in cybersecurity when he lost everything, including his $2 million business, to cybercrime. Since then, he has shared his experiences on 60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper, and even while cooking meatballs with Rachel Ray. Contact John directly to see how he can customize his presentations to your audience.

Beware Cyber Security Grinches & Holiday Scams

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‘Tis the season to receive holiday scams in your email, on your Facebook page and via text. But you won’t be singing tra la la la la if you click on links that install malware on your computer! More and more of us seem to be conducting our holiday shopping online, and the cyber security Grinches are taking advantage of this new-found holiday convenience. There are several varieties of holiday scams that seem to come around each year.

The first red flag might be the Subject line of the email: “Order Confirmation”, “Acknowledgement of Order”, “Order Status”, “Thanks for Your Order”, “Problem With Your Order”, “Delivery Failure”, “Canceling Your Scheduled Delivery”, etc. It may tell you that an order is ready for you and you just need to click on the link to get the information about how to redeem it. Or, it may play on your fear of not getting a package out before Christmas and say you haven’t provided a correct address – this is a fear-based holiday scam.

Holiday scams usually appear to come from well-known companies, are VERY realistic looking and even use actual logos.

Once you click on the link, however, malware is installed on your computer that may gather email credentials, credit card data, logins and passwords in addition to making your computer a magnet for junk mail. It can also deploy a scanning technology that uses your computer to scan websites for vulnerabilities and then hack them!

Cyber Grinch or Real Deal? How to Tell the Difference…

If you do receive an email, scammy or otherwise, even if you did indeed order from that store, follow these steps:

  1. DO NOT CLICK ON ANY LINKS IN THE EMAIL!
  2. Instead, open your web browser and type in the merchant site and log in to your account (which you had to establish to order from them).
  3. If it the email you received was about a legitimate order, they will provide you with an order or reference number which you can type into their website to verify activity.

In other words, verify that the email is legitimate by going directly to the site; don’t depend on the email. If for some reason you did click on a link that brought you to a website, make sure that you don’t click any more times on that site, and don’t fill out any information that they might be requesting.

(For more solutions to common scams related to the holidays, or really, all year long, check out our entire 12 Days to a Safe Christmas blog series.)

When not protecting readers around the holidays, John Sileo is an an award-winning author and keynote speaker on identity theft, cyber security, internet privacy & technology defense. John specializes in making security entertaining, so that it works. John is CEO of The Sileo Group, whose clients include the Pentagon, Visa, Homeland Security & Pfizer. John’s body of work includes appearances on 60 Minutes, Rachael Ray, Anderson Cooper & Fox Business. Contact him directly on 800.258.8076.
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9th Day: I’m Getting Nuttin’ (but Scams) for Christmas

Holiday Security Tips: On the ninth day of Christmas, the experts gave to me, 9 protected packages

Thieves are on the lookout for the delivery of packages, especially around the holidays.  Fed Ex and UPS packages might sit outside for hours, often in plain view from the street, making a mighty tempting target.  Not only can thieves grab the precious contents inside, but also the shipping labels often contain personal information the thieves love to get their hands on.

Solution: Ship packages to your work address, a PO Box or require a signature 

If your employer doesn’t mind your receiving packages at work, have them shipped there since someone is generally available during the day (when shipments arrive). If that doesn’t work, consider getting a PO Box at the post office during the holidays. When all else fails, ask to have your packages shipped with signature required so that they aren’t dropped off unless someone is there to sign.

 

Even if you didn’t put a tack on your teacher’s chair or tie a knot in Susie’s hair, you might get nuttin’ for Christmas if you don’t outsmart the thieves. On the tenth day of Christmas…

John Sileo helps businesses defend against data exposure by speaking at conferences looking for highly relevant content delivered with humorous audience interaction. See video clips of John on stage and in the media.