Information and Tools for The Modern Life

The first Question I get about this is " What is with that?".

I have written many articles about PCI compliance and fees and especially fines in the past few months for friends that have gone into the business of helping business owners avoid these fines / fees and get them back on the road to profit.

However, I obviously have not put anything on here where it could also be described as Important Security Information  and , yes, I just noticed that.

To...

Can you spot fake check scams or phony documents when they drop into your mailbox?

we will show you some of the most common mistakes crooks make when they send forged payments or checks drawn on a non-existent bank.And we highlight some of the tell-tale signs that a letter or other document you received may be bogus.

Fake check scams arrive in your mailbox as part of another con trick -- like an advance fee fraud or a phony payment for something you sold online.

Who's watching you? More importantly, do you even know if they are?

We ask this question after seeing a tiny,secret video camera hidden in a pen top, offered recently by a major online retailer for little more than $20.

Claiming to be the world's smallest video recorder, it is nevertheless a powerful camera and sound recorder encased in an ordinary looking pen that someone could pop into their shirt or place on a desk.

Later, it can be plugged into a computer for downloadin...

Technology, in the shape of a satellite navigation system and a hidden camera, is the culprit in this issue.

We explain how personal information stored on a GPS device can fall into the wrong hands, and how tiny but powerful cameras can be used to spy on you.

We also have the lowdown on a new twist to an old scam-- the use of scare tactics to frighten people into paying for debts they don't even owe.

A reader's letter to syndicated newspaper column "...

Internet phishing for account numbers, log-on details and other personal information is one of the biggest online scams.

But as Internet users wise up, becoming more wary about clicking on unsafe links, crooks have come up with a new trick that changes legitimate pages into bogus ones without the user noticing.

"Tab-nabbing," as it's called, puts a powerful new weapon in the hands of identity thieves -- but this week we show you how to spot and avoid it.

Just whe...

Granted, most of us won't plaster our Social Security numbers all over billboards. But real threats exist out there, and it is important to protect your identity. Are online identity-protection services worth the cost? Can you trust them? Are there more-effective ways to protect your personal information without the services of a specialized company? We did some digging, and here’s what we found.

How Identity Theft Works

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Security software from major vendors can take an average of two days to block a Web site designed to attack a computer visiting it, according to the latest report from NSS Labs, which tested security software suites against fresh malware released on the Internet.

"The magnitude of these findings should be noting short of an alarming wake-up call for the security industry," according to the report.

NSS Labs does independent security software testing....

New campers sometimes learn things the hard way, and even experienced campers overlook things from time to time. Have you ever heard the saying "live and learn?" Maybe this "list" will make the learning process a little quicker and remind campers (new and old) of some things we should(n't) do.

New campers usually wait until they get to the campground before they tryout new gear. I've watched campers fumble for hours trying to figure out how to set up a tent. Practice really ...

Webcams might be a necessary piece of equipment for videoconferencing and a useful add-on to free voice-over-Internet services like Skype. But as you might imagine, they present a number of challenges to parents who want to protect their children's privacy.First, parents are naturally concerned about their children communicating with strangers in any medium. Add a camera into the mix—whether it's taking still photos or video—and you edge quickly from the merely icky into the possi...

The FBI has become aware of e-mails being generated with the subject line “FBI Investigation” and implying the e-mail originated from the FBI. The e-mail requests the recipient’s assistance by purchasing merchandise via the Internet. This e-mail is fictitious, and its origin is being investigated. The FBI would never direct someone to expend personal funds in furtherance of an investigation. The following is the actual message.

-----Original Message-----

From...

The lawless, Wild-Wild-Web days of the early Internet are coming to a jail door slamming end as the FBI reports the arrests of more than 130 individuals and the seizure of more than $17 million in cases involving internet fraud and abuse.

The arrests and seizures resulted from Operation E-Con, an effort coordinated by 43 United States Attorney’s Offices nationwide, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Postal In...

Just because someone asks for it doesn't mean you have to comply.

Especially since there are only a handful of organizations that actually have a valid need for it. For instance, anytime you're applying for credit -- for a new credit card, a loan, new telephone or cellular service -- the creditor will need your Social Security number to run a credit check. You'll also need to provide it if you are applying for federal or local government benefits such as Social Security, Medicare or Med...

In research  which has shocked even top fraud squad police, almost half of users in their 20sagreed to a request from a rubber duck to be Facebook "friends".

A similar result occurred with a group of internet users in their 50s,with many agreeing to be Facebook friends with a photo of two cats.

Many of the Facebook users in both age groups volunteered some of their most intimate details to both the rubber duck and the cats, including their full date of birth, workplace, email...

A couple of days after the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) kicked off the 2010 tax filing season on January 4, researchers received samples of spammed email messages informing recipients thatthere have been some important changes in the IRS Employers W-2 forms.Below are the details of the email:

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From: "Internal Revenue Service" update@irs.com

Subject: W-2 Form update

Message body:

Important changes w...

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission continues to make internet commerce a top priority.

The FTC recent issued new regulations that govern the use of “endorsements” to promote products. Those regulations can be found at 16 C.F.R. § 255 . Note, the new regulations are effective December 1, 2009.

The new regulations cover all sorts of third party testimonials and endorsements—by consumers, experts and celebrities.

If your promotions use custom...