Every tax season, scammers are notorious for trying to trick taxpayers into giving over their financial and sensitive information. These types of tax scams earn criminals billions of dollars every year. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimates that they paid out $3.1 billion in fake refunds in 2014. That is $3.1 million worth of tax returns that went to tax scammers instead of the correct people due to fraudulent tax scams.
With hackers being able to gain more access to our personal details, it’s about time to make sure we protect the information we put online about ourselves and share with the world. Increasing your social media privacy will undoubtedly make you less vulnerable to hackers. When you access your social media account, look in the security or privacy tabs to change your settings. When in doubt, click through all the various tabs in the preferences pages for your account and adjust security settings.
Amazon has been hit with a new scam that you need to know about before making any more purchases from them. Certain products, specifically electronics, are advertised as ‘used – like new’ and appear as legitimate deals at great prices, but in reality, is mean to scam you. When you click on these items, they will redirect you to a look-a-like page that appears exactly like an Amazon page would. They are however a phishing site meant to scam and trick you into stealing your personal information and money.
How many devices do you have with cameras around the house? You probably have some laptops, a few cell phones, perhaps a baby monitor, and maybe even a home surveillance system. Even though cameras are meant to enhance our devices capabilities, in reality they are putting us in danger. Cybercriminals are able to hack into these cameras to steal our personal information and spy on us.
This year is coming to a close and we should prepare to protect ourselves from the innovative and imminent cyber threats of 2017. Being aware will keep you ahead of the game and ensure you’re secure and protected against all the latest threats. Learn more about some of the biggest cyber threats to look out for in the upcoming year.
