Category: Scammers

Dangers of the Quora data breach

The dangers of the Quora data breach cannot be understated, especially when the incident reportedly affected up to 100m users!

Just yesterday we wrote about the issue of reusing passwords and user credentials across multiple sites. Doing so can put you at far greater risks than you may even realise. One of the key things it means is that your credentials breached in an attack could be used to break into other platforms you use. Facebook is a prime example with billions of users and a feature that lets you log into other platforms using your Facebook credentials.

On that basis, the dangers of an incident like this Quora one simply cannot be understated.

The risks of reusing passwords

Thousands of people have contacted us for help with data breach claims. Victims can be entitled to make a claim for compensation. The risks of reusing passwords is one of the first things people may need to consider.

The advice is to never reuse the same passwords and user credentials across different platforms. Despite this, people still do it. It means that being the victim of one simple breach could lead to several accounts being accessed. In fact, it could even mean those credentials are used to hack into a business you are employed with.

There’s a great deal that many people may not consider when it comes to reusing passwords and usernames. The mindset needs to change!

Is your phone recording you?

Posted by Matthew on February 28, 2019 in the following categories: Cybersecurity Hacking News Mobile Data Scammers Security and tagged with apps | cyber crime | cybersecurity | online security | personal data

The typical answer as to the popular question “is your phone recording you?” is often “no”, according to many. However, you may not be aware that some things can be recorded, and you may not be aware of it.

According to a recent investigation by TechCrunch and The App Analyst, some popular apps may be recording user data without proper – or more explicit – permission or understanding. The investigation reportedly looked at a range of apps and found ways in which the companies or the developers could record and store data they may not have permission for.

That’s worrying; especially in the era of continual breaches linked to apps, and ongoing concerns as to how much the likes of Siri or Alexa are taking in when they’re waiting for our commands…

OkCupid data breach denied as “bug” found

Posted by Matthew on February 19, 2019 in the following categories: Cybersecurity Data Hacking News Scammers Security Social Networking and tagged with apps | cyber crime | cybersecurity | online security | personal data

News of an OkCupid data breach has been denied by the company, although a “bug” has reportedly been found by a security firm anyway.

Some users reportedly complained of their accounts being hacked and taken over. As a result of a lack of additional security, like two-factor authentication – a lack of security apparently common in the dating site industry – some users were successfully targeted by criminals.

However, OkCupid denies that a security breach has taken place. That being said, a “bug” was reportedly identified by security researchers and has apparently been fixed.

Scams arising from the TV licensing data breach

Posted by Matthew on January 23, 2019 in the following categories: Claims Cybersecurity Hacking News Scammers and tagged with cyber attack | cyber crime | cybersecurity | online security | phishing scams

Victims of last year’s TV licensing data breach need to take care to avoid falling victim to phishing scams that are doing the rounds at the moment.

Victims of the TalkTalk data breach – one of the over 20 data breach actions we’re representing people in – were contacted after the breach. It appears that scammers had got hold of information that had been exposed in the breach. Victims of the TV licensing data breach should be wary of being contacted in the same way.

We know that phishing scams using the cover of TV licensing are doing the rounds. One victim lost £10,000.00 to scammers after they managed to convince him they were the real thing.

We need to talk about drone hacking

Posted by Matthew on December 21, 2018 in the following categories: Cybersecurity Hacking News Latest Scammers Security Technology and tagged with cyber attack | cyber crime | cybersecurity | smart technology

As Gatwick Airport has been brought to a standstill over drones accessing the airfield, now is the time we need to talk about drone hacking.

We’ve highlighted this before, but given the news this week, it’s time to bring it up again. If cars can be hacked, so can drones. If smart tech in the home can be hacked, so can drones. If these things can be used to harm people – physically or financially – so can drones. They’re remote-controlled which means a huge door is there to be opened. There also incredibly easy to buy, and hackers have already demonstrated how easy it is to take control of another drone by hacking.

If there’s technology good enough to bring one of the UK’s biggest airports to a standstill, drone hacking is a serious concern.

Victims of Amazon data breach should take precautions

An Amazon data breach incident took place in the lead up to the big Black Friday sales a few weeks ago.

The incident reportedly stemmed from a technical problem.

In the data protection breach, customer names and email addresses were inadvertently posted on the company’s website. They were removed upon discovery of the error, and customers affected by the data breach have been informed.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is said to be looking into the situation.

Equifax data breach fraud trends

It’s understood there have been cases of Equifax data breach fraud committed, perhaps, as a direct result of the breach itself.

Tech company, Forte, produced some stats that indicate some alarming figures in the wake of the Equifax data breach. The data can be interpreted as a possible spike in some fraud incidents after the Equifax data breach took place, which wouldn’t surprise us given the scale and nature of this monumental attack.

It’s another sign that we ought to be far more concerned with regards to data breaches than many people are.

Ticketmaster cyber attack may just be the beginning

The recent Ticketmaster cyber attack we’ve launched an action for may just be the beginning as hackers are reportedly ready to attack again.

The Ticketmaster cyber attack was successful because the hackers were able to install malicious code into third-party software that Ticketmaster were using as part of their payment process. Inbenta, the authors of the code, say they didn’t know Ticketmaster were using their code for this purpose, and had they have known, they say they would have recommended against it on the grounds of security issues.

The growing trend of hackers looking to attack third-party code means the huge Ticketmaster cyber attack may well be just the beginning.

Ransomware attacks still on the rise

Ransomware attacks are still on the rise, and we all have every reason to be very worried about the increasing trends we’re seeing.

According to at least one piece of recent research, 2018 has already seen double the rate of ransomware attacks so far, but what’s equally as concerning is that the attacks are changing tact to go for bigger targets to demand higher ransoms, and the hackers are enjoying success.

It’s a sign of the times, and we all need to be very careful to make sure we protect ourselves from the growing risks of ransomware attacks.