Blog

Is mobile banking a fad or the future?

Richard Booth — Tue, 01 May 2012 09:22:09 +0000

There is no shortage of mobile banking apps for your phone. Whether it is from your actual bank, your credit card provider, your mobile phone provider or even some 3rd party, it seems that when it comes to managing your money on the move, everyone is getting in on the act. The question I continue to ask myself is, WHY?

Online check-in scams, fraud aimed at the jet set!

Richard Booth — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:01:42 +0000

Fraudsters are becoming increasingly brazen in their attempts to pry your personal data from you. As more of us learn to recognise the typical phishing email claiming to be from our bank (or any bank for that matter) the success rate of harvesting credentials is dropping and in response, fraudsters are trying out creative new ways to improve their success rate. One such innovation is through the use of online check-in phishing attacks claiming to be from your airline.

Contactless Payments & Social Engineering

Richard Booth — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 10:56:58 +0000

I was recently in London for a series of meetings and decided to catch a cab between appointments. Nothing unusual about that you might think and neither did I until I came to pay my fare. It was the first time I had encountered a London taxi that offered a contactless payment method...

iPad2 "Give-aways" = ID Theft Too

Richard Booth — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 11:56:14 +0000

It's lighter, thinner, faster, more elegant and at the top of any iFan's "I-want-one-of-those" list. Yes, it's the iPad2, released in the UK on March 28th. I admit as I type this blog entry on my "old" iPad1 that I will be eager to get my hands on the new version when it comes out, but not so eager as to fall for the many scams that invariably follow its launch.

High-end, big ticket electronics are a favourite of scammers looking to make a quick buck. The iPad2 is no exception and so please be warned that in the weeks before and after its launch there will no doubt be a flood of email campaigns and websites offering too-good-to-be-true deals on iPad2. They will lure you in with "free" give-aways, "buy one get on free" offers and large discount deals. The fact of the matter is that this just isn't the Apple operating model and these offers and deals are guaranteed scams.

More information to come as this develops, but for the time being, please don't be fooled into the free iPad2 scams that are already out there.

Don't Let Your Valentine Socially Engineer You

Richard Booth — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 09:15:00 +0000

In today's fast paced world of IT where messaging systems are all about real-time information sharing and less about handwriting a letter to be sent via the post, many of us are looking to the internet for our relationships. The success of online dataing sites is testament to people's modern day approach to falling in love. This Valentine's Day should be approached with caution especially when it comes to e-cards and pther love related emails, tweets or private messages...

CyberCrime 2011: What to watch out for...

Richard Booth — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:20:00 +0000

January is usually an exciting time of year (work wise) for someone like me, with all the security reviews of the previous year and lots of predictions about what we will be "fighting" in the next 12 months. For the most part, the security experts that put these predictions together are pretty accurate in what they say about the threats to our online identities in the coming year. After my previous post on New Year's resolutions, and highlighting some of the basic steps you can take to protect yourself, I thought I would do a quick wrap-up of my top 3 predictions being made for 2011...

Identity Fraud New Year's Resolutions

Richard Booth — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 10:20:00 +0000

Aah yes, the good old New Year's resolutions. Those promises that we make to ourselves but very rarely take seriously or follow through on. Apologies for sounding so cynical, but in my personal experience I battle to remember a proper New Year's resolution that I saw through right to the very end. Post Christmas weight loss and the associated gym contracts seem to be the most common failings. But there are a number of New Year's resolutions that I hope you will take seriously and be mindful of in the coming year. When it comes to protecting your digital identity, here are my top 5 New Year's resolutions...

Contactless Cards and Electronic Pickpocketing

Richard Booth — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 09:41:40 +0000

While stumbling along yesterday, I came across this news video clip of "Electronic Pickpocketing", wherein the reports describes the potential dangers of contactless banking cards...

Facebook Credits: A new global currency or a new fraudster go-to-market channel?

Richard Booth — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 10:11:22 +0000

Earlier this year Facebook, the world’s largest social network, announced the launch of its new Facebook Credits programme. Facebook Credits are a virtual currency used to buy virtual goods in many of the affiliate games and applications on the Facebook platform. Until recently you were only able to buy the virtual currency using your credit card, PayPal account or mobile phone through the Facebook platform itself. Now Facebook have expanded the purchase options, forming key strategic partnerships with Target, Walmart, Best Buy and Radio Shack in the US and Tesco in the UK...

WikiLeaks; Right, Wrong or Redefining Normal?

Richard Booth — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 13:49:34 +0000

November 28th, 2010 was the start of what fast became known on the internet as "CableGate". This was data leakage at a level never before seen or acknowledged by the general public. What has become so evident in the last week or so, is how much support Wikileaks is getting from the internet community. All manners of social networking are driving the spread of the cablegate phenomonon to extreme levels, prompting reactions, statements and comments from world leaders. This is a true demonstration of the power of the internet, good or evil? You decide...