Identity Theft Archives - https://www.fromgirltogirl.com/

Business, Business and Education Tools, Community Empowerment, Fromgirltogirl.com, Guest Bloggers

New Study: American’s youth lost a record $210 million to Online Scams last year learn about Online Safety

September 12, 2023 No Comments

As kids return to school, a new study found America’s youth lost a record $210 million to online scams last year, up 2,500% since 2017.

Many adults were taught about “stranger danger” as kids and told never to get into a random van. In today’s technological world, online predators have even easier access to our children because scams that prey on young people’s insecurity and naiveté can lead to financial losses, physical harm and suicide.

“The rate at which young people are being scammed is alarming. As a father of two, I am passionate about keeping kids safe online and it is incumbent on parents to spend more time discussing online safety with their children.”
Social Catfish Co-Founder David McClellan

Social Catfish – a reverse search technology company – released a study on the State of Internet Scams 2023 using data from the FBI IC3 and FTC.

About Online Scams

Online Games and In-App Purchases Scam: Many online games and mobile apps offer in-game purchases. With one click, kids can make substantial unauthorized purchases and be tricked into sharing their parents’ credit card information because children may not fully understand spending real money in a virtual world. How to Avoid: Parents should enable parental controls to stop in-app purchases without their approval.

Romance Scams and Sextortion: Online predators target lonely teens on social media and begin ‘love bombing’ them. Teens with low self-esteem are more susceptible to falling in love. Scammers will ask for money or personal information to commit identity theft. They may ask to meet in real life which could lead to physical assault or may engage in ‘sextortion’ by requesting a sexy selfie and then threatening to release the photo if a ransom is not paid. How to Avoid: Perform a reverse image search to confirm the real identity of the person. Never send money or photos to anyone you do not know.

Learn more about online scams, including key findings on the state of internet scams by reading State of Internet Scams 2023 from Social Catfish.

Business, Business and Education Tools, FG2G TV

Cybersecurity Threats – Take This Lollipop 2 | a Zoom meeting horror film

October 25, 2020 No Comments

Do you remember the 2011 viral “Take This Lollipop” horror film? Finally there is a sequel using deep fake tech, AI, all in a Zoom meeting horror setting to highlight today’s cybersecurity threats. It is worth checking out as we countdown to 2020 Halloween. The simulation works best on a desktop. Check it out at TakeThisLollipop.com.

About Take This Lollipop

In 2011, Jason Zada broke the internet with a Facebook-integrated short horror film called Take This Lollipop, which managed to frighten millions around the world to tears while showing them the real life dangers of the internet and social media in terms of data breaching and identity theft threats.
This month, Zada launched the sequel (TakeThisLollipop.com) – a Zoom-based short horror film experience that blends Deep Fakes, AI and the new normal we’re all experiencing – to bring into focus how identity theft has evolved immensely since 2011 into a much more complex and terrifying threat.

While taking in this experience, it is crucial you watch until the very end. You will know when it is over.

It’s an unpaid, original meant purely to have a little fun for Halloween, while also creating some awareness for what these technologies can be made to do, in a very shocking and mind bending way.

Fun fact: the Deep Fake art was done by the same guy who blended Jennifer Lawrence and Steve Buscemi! His name is BirbFakes.
Happy Halloween!
Lollipop (verb): The act of stealing someone’s identity and transforming into them.

In 2011, the internet was introduced to Take This Lollipop, a digital film experience that asked viewers to click a button that read “connect via Facebook”. The film started, and viewers quickly learned that the story’s protagonist, a terrifying stalker, was stalking them. See a short recap, here.

The first film experience played on the very real growing concern about data security that for years had been splashed endlessly across major news headlines. Lollipop codified a collective feeling about what could happen if personal data got into a stalker’s hands.

It’s 2020. We stopped caring about data, and still use the same password everywhere. Remember all those data breaches? We don’t hear about them anymore. AI and Deep Fakes are so powerful now. Presidents, celebrities and athletes have been deep faked.

It’s easier than ever to lose your identity, much more than just your account numbers.

The pandemic has only sped things up. Our homes are visible through video calls. There’s more footage of you talking, making faces and intonations. Is anyone recording those calls?

The first Lollipop warned people of the dangers of sharing personal information online. Now we want to show the world how someone can actually become you. Take This Lollipop 2 is a short film experience that plays on the new normal, ramping up a narrative that began nine years ago, a visceral ride rooted in the headlines that have whisked down our newsfeeds since 2011.

Financial investments

Capital One Breach: How to secure your financial information

August 2, 2019 No Comments

Credit cards placed on a laptop keyboard

This week Capital One announced that roughly 100 million credit card applications had been compromised in a data breach, exposing an estimated 77,000 bank account numbers and 140,000 Social Security numbers. Fortunately there are free-credit-score websites like WalletHub available as well as important tips for how potential victims of the Capital One data breach can keep their financial information safe. See below.

Sign up for 24/7 credit monitoring

This will grant you the opportunity to find out immediately if someone tries to open an account in your name.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication

Capital One was hacked, but your cell phone wasn’t. Use your mobile phone as another layer of protection when logging into your email account and financial websites.

A Freeze Is Better Than an Alert

If you really want to protect yourself from fraudulent borrowing, freeze your three major credit reports (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). This will prevent anyone but you from accessing them, thus making it impossible to take out a loan or line of credit. A fraud alert, in contrast, doesn’t do much.

Suppress Fraudulent Information

While you can dispute run-of-the-mill credit report inaccuracies, it’s best to use a process called “suppression” / “blocking” to get rid of negative information resulting from identity theft because it ensures the records in question do not make a reappearance after the initial removal.

Never Respond to Unsolicited Requests for Information

Don’t be surprised if you see an uptick in unsolicited calls and emails requesting personal information. Remember: Never answer if you didn’t ask to be contacted.

WalletHub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou, formerly a senior director at Capital One, share advice

Does this mean it’s not safe to apply for a Capital One credit card?

“I don’t believe that people should avoid applying for Capital One credit cards because of this breach. Pretty much any other big company could easily be in Capital One’s shoes right now, as they’re all under digital fire from hackers. You actually have to give Capital One some credit for how they’ve handled the issue thus far. They assisted in the swift apprehension of the perpetrator and were transparent in their announcement,” said WalletHub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou.

“Capital One has been among the most technologically sophisticated credit card companies for years, and you can bet they will double down on making this type of breach as unlikely as possible in the future. Given that, and the fact that Capital One credit cards are some of the best on the market, there’s no need for consumers to stay away.”

How worried should recent Capital One credit card applicants be?

“Recent Capital One credit card applicants should certainly be more worried than usual, and especially vigilant, following the company’s data breach,” said WalletHub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou. “But the bottom line is that most people’s personal information has probably already been stolen at least once, considering the many big data breaches that have occurred in recent years. So we should all be worried, and we should all sign up for free 24/7 credit monitoring, set up two-factor authentication, and review our credit card and bank statements closely.”

What explains Social Security numbers being stolen from business credit card applications?

“Some people may find it curious that the roughly 144,000 Social Security numbers stolen in Capital One’s data breach were from applications for business credit cards. But that’s actually standard. Nearly all small business credit cards require applicants to list their Social Security number,” said WalletHub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou. “The reason is that most small businesses are an extension of their owner’s personal finances, and applicants generally have more personal credit history to evaluate. Business owners are also held personally liable for business credit card balances. ”