Covid-19 Scams – How to Protect Yourself

Data breaches are a serious risk that can lead to a substantial amount of lost information annually. This week financial, legal, health, and education sectors were all hit.

Capital One is a large financial corporation and an American bank that offers financing and a range of other financial services to interested customers.

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is an insurance provider that offers non-profit healthcare to residents in a variety of different states, including New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

The University of Rochester is a mid-sized school in New York State. It was founded in 1850 and has more than 12,000 students overall.

Casepoint is one of the first companies to get approval to serve as an eDiscovery tool for Federal and State governments in the United States.

MCNA, a health insurance program service that works with children and Medicaid recipients, was recently the target of a ransomware gang.

High-profile companies, government agencies, healthcare companies, and government contractors were all exposed in data breaches this week.

Suffolk University is a private research university located near Boston, Massachusetts. The school serves over 7,500 students each year and offers more than 100 undergrad, professional, and graduate programs.

ABB is a Swiss-based technology company that has contracts with the US government along with other local governments and major companies in different parts of the world.

Apria Healthcare is a healthcare equipment provider that works with more than 2 million patients annually. The company offers services in more than 280 different locations in the United States and specializes in home healthcare equipment.

Debt relief scams proliferate when significant amounts of financial suffering and confusion arise. The Department of Education has created a golden opportunity for predators to scam collegians seeking relief from burdensome student loan debt.

Hackers have stepped up their game in recent years, attacking everything from local cash registers to government infrastructure.

The US Marine Corps is a military service department that serves the US Department of Defense. The organization is responsible for provisioning and overseeing the marine troops and for most ground-based operations.

Tesla, one of the leading electronic vehicle manufacturers in the world today, recently suffered from a massive data breach that resulted in extensive data being released to the public.

Health, financial, and education institutions took major hits this week in coordinated data breach attacks. PharMerica Credit Control Corporation, Retirement Clearinghouse, Whitworth University, and Bristol Community College were all victims of major breaches that resulted in significant data losses and some serious problems for the people involved.

Bristol Community College is a mid-sized public university located in Fall River, Massachusetts. The school employs more than 1,000 individuals and has over 11,000 students annually.

Whitworth University is a small private Christian university located in Spokane, Washington. The school manages information for more than 3,000 students each year, and all that data was put at risk when the school was hit by a ransomware attack.

Retirement Clearinghouse is a financial services company that got its start in 2001 by the name of RolloverSystems first. This company helps businesses enable their employees to exchange their individual retirement savings accounts for company 401k accounts.

Credit Control Corporation, or CCC, is a Virginia-based company that offers debt collection solutions to different companies.

PharMerica is a huge service provider that works with many of the pharmacies and medical facilities in the United States today.

The internet of the 80s is with us today, controlling data flow, direction, delivery, and more. Border Gateway Protocols date back to the origins of internet traffic routing between autonomous systems.

Over centuries, harassment has been rooted in the global human condition. Modern America continues to grapple with intimidation, sexual abuse, bullying, and much more, all of which have severe implications for the victims.

Inquisitive minds are curious and seek out new knowledge, asking questions that will receive detailed answers. Anyone who considers themselves inquisitive should avoid the "Dark Web" or approach with extreme caution.

Major data breaches seem to be occurring more and more frequently, and we have some huge names on the list of impacted companies this week, including the US Government, Toyota, and Intel.

NextGen Healthcare is an Atlanta-based healthcare services company that helps hospitals and health practices manage health record data electronically.

SchoolDude is a cloud-based work management tool for school districts and other organizations throughout the United States. This software service is used by school employees and students to submit repair requests and manage those same requests.

Intel is an American-based corporation that offers technology products and services to much of the world. The massive corporation employs tens of thousands of individuals and generates approximately 63 billion USD in annual revenue.

Toyota is a worldwide car manufacturer based in Toyota City, Japan. This automaker produces millions of vehicles each year, and many of those vehicles had their locations publicly available for as long as ten years.

Protection methods for sensitive data have evolved to encompass new forms of thinking to combat constant threat vectors and attacks.

From the beginning of the computer revolution, there has been a smorgasbord of devices and peripherals, with some DOA and others innovative and groundbreaking.

The US Government employs more than 1. 8 million individuals, and a large group of those employees was recently exposed by a serious data breach.

Carvin Software is a massive company based in Gilbert, Arizona. The company creates specialized software solutions for business owners and individuals throughout the country.

Major companies have suffered serious data breaches this week, and even the city of Dallas, Texas, was hacked and damaged by data attacks that could expose a significant number of people, making it clear that everyone is at risk when it comes to identity theft and data attacks specifically.

McPherson Hospital is a large-scale health facility in McPherson, Kansas. The hospital employs more than 225 people and offers walk-in care, emergency care, primary care services, and a range of specialty health services.

The Metropolitan Opera is a well-established opera house that opened its doors in 1883 and has been putting on dozens of operas each year.

The City of Dallas, Texas, is the ninth largest in the United States currently, with a population of more than 2. 6 million people.

A lot of us are fascinated with technology. Any form or mention of the subject piques an interest or at least a glance of curiosity.

Debt is most often referred to as an amount of money owed to another person. However, debt can be anything of value to the borrower.

Brighline is a virtual counseling service that provides help to children, teenagers, and whole families. This pediatric counseling service offers a range of mental health care services to patients throughout the world.

Data breaches are harmful to the companies they hit as well as their customers, and this week telecommunications and networking companies were hit especially hard.

"CommScope Office" by Tony Webster is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Source: Flickr CommScope is a massive tech company with more than 30,000 employees.

T-Mobile is a telecommunications brand used throughout the United States, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany. The company provides text messaging services, voice communication, mobile data, and more for millions of customers.

Communications company AT&T offers email services to many of its customers. Those emails have recently been compromised by way of an interesting exploit that is costing customers millions of dollars in stolen cryptocurrency.

A few very personal and private specialized dating sites were recently hit by data attacks that have led to users being exposed and potentially released onto the internet.

Albertsons is a major grocery chain in the United States. The company is based in Boise, Idaho, and oversees a huge range of different grocery stores throughout the country.

The Cyber Kill Chain is a significant piece of work from Lockheed Martin in 2011. The Chain outlines seven essential points at which an IT team can intercept a cyberattack.

The catfishing phenomenon is distinctively modern and sordid. According to the Washington Post, it began when a NY City man was lured into an internet relationship with an attractive 19-year-old in the Midwest.

Kimco Realty is a major real estate investment company based in Jericho, NY. The company specializes in developing shopping centers and helps businesses obtain the commercial real estate they need for grocery stores and other plazas.

Another week has gone by, and significant data breaches have occurred in real estate, government, legal associations, and healthcare systems.

Point32Health is a health company based in Canton, Massachusetts. This company oversees a variety of different health plans and is responsible for maintaining health care for some key universities.

Shields Healthcare Group is a technologically advanced health service provider that works with independent and large medical providers.

The American Bar Association is the largest global organization of legal professionals in the world and has more than 166,000 members currently.

It is doubtful we would need electronic wallet protection walking down the streets of most rural American towns. With these enclaves, it is even more doubtful that you would see anybody you would even need to be leery about.

Texting has taken over the global communication space; marketers and predators are seeing huge dollar signs. Email continues to be a reliable, but somewhat fraught with problems, alternative form of communication.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a government agency that's tasked with protecting consumers from financial institutions.

This week has been full of serious data breaches from major hospitals, financial institutions, accounting firms, and more. It's a bad time to trust your data to companies online, and more and more businesses are proving they don't have the means to keep our data safe.

Harding, Shymanski, and Company is a major accounting firm that works with customers providing them with tax help and other financial services.

Unlimited Care Inc. is a home health company that offers help to patients in Westchester, New York, and surrounding locations.

Bank of America is a massive worldwide financial institution that works with hundreds of thousands of customers. The organization relies on NCB Management to collect debts and manage past-due accounts.

Between January and March of this year, US government documents started being leaked online. These documents contain some valuable information, and the Department of Defense has been trying to determine the culprits behind the leaked documents.

The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a leading academic hospital that delivers virtual and in-person care to a wide range of patients.

Nexx is a home security company that specializes in internet-connected security devices such as alarms, garage door openers, cameras, plugs, and more.

One of the hottest online trends is auction sites selling everything from toys to cars and items tucked away in a closet. Sites such as Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and Decluttr, provide a way for anyone to sell anything. 

Recent data breaches have exposed documents from the U.S. Military, from Hawaii Maui College, the major restaurant brand behind companies like Taco Bell and KFC, hardware giant MSI and security company Nexx.

MSI is a huge PC parts manufacturer that's responsible for creating laptops, servers, graphics cards, motherboards, peripherals, and more.

Yum! , a massive worldwide food brand, operates over 55,000 restaurants in a total of 155 countries. The brand has more than 36,000 employees and owns restaurants like KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, among others.

The University of Hawaii Maui College is one of ten branches of the Hawaii public university college system. The school is located in Maui and serves more than 2,500 students annually.

Recently, classified military documents have been showing up on social media sites around the internet. These documents are primarily about the war in Ukraine, and some released were Top Secret documents.

Etsy, since 2005, has been a marketplace for millions of small business owners, selling everything from jewelry to toys. Without a doubt, an online criminal is lurking around every virtual corner.

Successful hackers have the ability to find a specific vulnerability and turn it into millions of dollars if the account is large enough.

This week there have been some really significant data breaches in transportation, healthcare, and finance. Big names like Uber were hit, exposing tens of thousands of drivers, while finance companies TMX and NCB both took a hit as well.

"Health care reform protest at Blue Shield of California" by Steve Rhodes is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Source: Flickr

Driving for companies like Uber is always risky, as you never know who you will pick up, where you will have to take them, and if your vehicle could break down.

Majestic Care is a nursing home company that has more than 20 locations throughout Indiana. The organization serves elderly patients all over the state and manages a great deal of medical and financial information as a result.

NCB Management Services is a debt-buying company that acquires debt from other businesses and attempts to collect that debt. The organization works with many major companies, such as Bank of America, and it suffered from a serious data breach recently.

TMX Finance is a large financial company that specializes in short-term loans for in-need individuals. The company has been in operation since 1998 and runs businesses like InstaLoan, TitleMax, and TitleBucks.

Major companies and services were hit by data breaches this week. Some of the breaches were caused by internal mistakes, others were the result of coordinated gang attacks, and some were issues with outside services.

Ferrari is a well-known luxury car manufacturer based out of Italy. The company creates some of the most beloved sports cars and is known for producing vehicles that stand out for their beauty and performance.

Postal Prescription Services is an Oregon-based mail-order medication business that sends medication to thousands of customers.

Banks are entrusted with a great deal of personal information, money, and more by their customers. When a bank isn't able to secure those things, it's a major issue.

Proctor and Gamble is a massive production company that produces home goods under many different brands and sells them around the world.

Impersonation has thousands of years of history. When we think of impersonating something or someone, at first glance, the intent is typically the act of deceiving someone.

The amount of content reaching the Internet every day is staggering. Digital data is created at around 2. 5 quintillion bytes of data every day.

ChatGPT is OpenAi's chatbot designed to simulate conversations with other people. The tool utilizes a massive language model to produce realistic and believable responses for a conversation.

Cyber-attacks are a major problem that exposes millions of people to fraud on an annual basis. This week there were attacks on some truly massive organizations like the NBA and PayPal, as well as a cyber security company and a few medical companies.

Independent Living Systems LLC is a healthcare facility provider for the elderly, physically challenged, and impaired. The company establishes short-term healthcare facilities for those that need extra care.

Rubrik is a security company that specializes in cloud data management services. The company helps store and secure information for customers, and it's vital that it is able to keep that data safe.

NorthStar Emergency Medical Services is an ambulance service based in Searcy, Arkansas. The company manages three EMS stations in the surrounding area and helps patients get the emergency help they need rapidly.

PayPal is a leading payment transfer service in the United States and other parts of the world. The company got started as a peer-to-peer payment solution and has evolved into a robust payment transfer solution for business and personal use.

Bitcoin changed the financial landscape in 2009; according to CoinMarketCap, there are now over 21,900 cryptocurrencies with a total market cap of $850 billion.

The NBA is a national sports league that manages many different leagues under its umbrella of organizations. The league has the NBA 2K League, NBA, Basketball Africa League, the WNBA, and the NBA G League.

Lawrence General Hospital is a private facility located in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The hospital is a non-profit organization and offers patients throughout the surrounding area a variety of services.

Cyber attacks are targeted at significant organizations, and this week is an excellent reminder that medical facilities aren't safe.

Cerebral is an online mental health company that's attempting to bring mental health care to patients around the country virtually.

Zoll is a medical device and technologies company that offers its services to EMS, fire professionals, and rescuers. Even the U.S. Military relies on technologies from the company in order to save lives.

The Minneapolis public school district includes approximately 100 primary and secondary public schools. Between the many different schools, approximately 36,000 students are served by about 1,500 teachers.

AT&T is a massive telecommunications company with its headquarters in Dallas, Texas. The company is known as the largest  telecommunications company in the world according to its revenue, and it is the third-largest mobile phone service provider in the United States.

ARP poisoning takes advantage of the weaknesses in the ARP protocol. ARP spoofing, ARP poison routing, and ARP cache poisoning are all part of the flaw in this communication protocol.

When evaluating the reckless ingenuity and devastating aftermath of present-day overlook disasters, KRACK lands in the top three.

It's been a rough week for major companies and the government as well, with the week finishing off with Washington D.C. lawmakers having their health information exposed.

Buying your own home is the American Dream, but it might seem out of reach to those with bad credit. However, the good news is, if your credit is less than perfect, you do still have options and in most cases, can still buy a home.

Any good IT article on computers and network security will address the importance of strong, secure passwords. However, the challenge of good passwords is that most people have a hard time remembering them, so they use simple or obvious ones that pose a security risk.

Senior scams are becoming a major epidemic for two reasons. First, seniors often have a lot of money in the bank from a life of working hard and saving.

The dark web, also known as the "darknet", is a portion of the internet that lies outside the boundaries of traditional search engines.

Your Wi-Fi network is another handy access point that hackers use to infiltrate your computers, steal your identity, and grab your personal details.

Six databases that were owned by Friend Finder Networks, Inc. suffered a massive data breach in 2016, which cost 412 million users their accounts.

In this highly digital age, it is near impossible to erase all information online about yourself, but you can do a lot to remove online information and minimize your risk of identity theft or worse. 

With all our technology and connectedness comes a price, vulnerability. Now more than ever before, our credit and identities are at risk from cybercriminals, thieves, and hackers.