It feels like two or three times a day, there is a report in the media about a company admitting its data was breached and customer information, including passwords, was stolen.
Even large firms or companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Target have admitted to breaches.
The truth is, no organization is immune from these attacks.
What most people need to be told is that you need to protect yourself not only by paying attention, but by carefully managing your various passwords.
We all get emails from UPS, Walmart, Costco and other big retailers, airlines or travel resorts, but are they real?
Cybercriminals are always looking for ways to get your information, steal money or steal your identity. They will create emails that look like they are from your bank, the IRS, a store you shop at, coworkers, relatives, or friends.
These emails will contain links they want you to click so you can enter your information. Unfortunately, once you do that, the damage is done.
There's a threat called Phishing and it can put your entire organization at risk. Phishing, a technique malefactors use to steal sensitive information such as user names and passwords, is a growing segment of crime.
Phishing typically involves the use of an authentic-looking email or website that prompts you to enter sensitive data that can be used to hack or hijack your business's systems. Phishing techniques are becoming increasingly sophisticated and more difficult to spot and prevent.
Every year around this time, the IRS issues a warning about scams that attempt to victimize taxpayers and steal from them. More often than not, the victims of these crimes are senior citizens. The scams have varying levels of sophistication. From simple - such as calling on the phone and posing as an IRS agent - to sophisticated phishing scams that attempt to get taxpayers to reveal information that can be used to hack key user accounts.
Even though reports of tax-related identity theft have declined markedly in recent years, the Internal Revenue Service warns that this practice is still widespread and remains serious enough to earn a spot on the agency’s annual “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams.
The Dirty Dozen is compiled each year by the IRS and outlines a variety of common scams taxpayers may encounter any time during the year. Many of these cons peak during filing season as people prepare their tax returns.Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone uses a stolen Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to file a fraudulent tax return claiming a refund.
The IRS recently announced additional requirements for taxpayers and tax professionals to verify their identities when they call as part of security efforts.
Taxpayers and professionals should have the following documents ready when they call:
“Data breach can’t happen in our company, we are not big enough to be a target.”
This data breach was especially egregious because the company reportedly first learned of the breach on July 29 and waited roughly six weeks before making it public (hackers first gained access between mid-May and July) and three senior Equifax executives reportedly sold shares of the company worth nearly $2 million before the breach was announced.
DOWNLOAD: FREE Ebook - Income Tax Return Fraud and Identity Theft
Moreover, as CNN points out, consumers don't choose to do business or share their data with Equifax; rather, Equifax — along with TransUnion and Experian, the other two major credit reporting agencies — unilaterally monitors the financial health of consumers and supplies that data to potential lenders without a consumer's approval or consent.
What we're reading today:
For many companies, keeping close tabs on revenue, expenses, and profit is the number one priority. However, companies that carry inventory may not realize its direct effect on profitability. This effect is known as shrinkage. Shrinkage is the excess amount of inventory (in accounting records) that no longer exists in the actual inventory. In other words, it is a loss of inventory. There are several causes of shrinkage, such as:
