A database containing personal information of 918,000 seniors seeking discounts on diabetes supplies was revealed to be exposing its contents for months freely online.
The seniors provided their personal financial and health information to a program promising them discounts on diabetes supplies. But, according to a report on Naked Security, a Sophos blog, the database on which the information was stored ended up exposed for months after a software developer in the employ of a telemarketing firm uploaded a backup copy to the internet.
The database was found by a Twitter user, calling himself Flash Gordon, on an Amazon Web Services (AWS) instance at an IP address. He is said to have used Shodan, a search engine for connected devices that "crawls the internet, connecting to likely services, logging what comes back, and creating a searchable index of the results," according to the blog post.
Flash Gordon notified DataBreaches.net – a data security site run by a health care professional – about his discovery. At that point, DataBreaches.net reached out to security researchers for help. They found that the database was not from an entity liable under HIPAA laws, such as a health care provider. Rather, they discerned it was from a telemarketer as the data included scripted comments to use when engaging with patients.
The database included names, addresses, dates of birth, telephone numbers, email addresses, taxpayer IDs, health insurance carrier, policy numbers, and information about what types of health problems the individuals had.
The database has since been taken down.
The Sophos researchers advised that when called by a telemarketer offering great deals on diabetes supplies, be wary of providing personal information as there's no way to know whether the caller is legitimate. Additionally, any information a caller provides might get duplicated for use in other telemarketing campaigns.
How to Recognize Fake Homeless People From Real
"Are they really in need or just scamming me"?
While most people love to give to those in need, there are those people who panhandle as a method of income.
1. Their Gratitude or Attitude
One thing that helps to see if a person is truly in need is their attitude. While many people are leery of giving money, offer to buy them a sandwich or something to drink or even a days work for pay.
If they refuse the food, then they must not be in need.
Many alcoholics and drug dealers find that begging is one of the best ways to get the money they need for their next fix with meth, heroin or their drug of choice. Anyone that is truly down on their luck will gladly take any food that is offered to them, even if they just ate.
2. Their Appearance
If someone is homeless, you don’t expect them to be sitting there in nice clothes. Look for things that might tip you off that they are faking. Things like piercings, nice clothes, and even tennis shoes can be an indication of a fake. However, that doesn’t mean that people haven’t donated to them either. If they are a homeless person, they probably will need a good bath and may have an odor to prove it.
Also, a good indication of someone in real need is what they have with them. Someone in real need is going to have a bag or two, sometimes a sleeping bag with them. Think all their worldly possessions in a couple of bags. They are not going to put their stuff out of eye sight. People that are scamming you will NOT have these items so be on the lookout.
3. Observe the Surroundings
If the person is running a scam, they could be part of a larger group in operation. They may have a cell phone on them, or they may have a car parked close by for a quick getaway. Look for any abandoned cars or a bike close to them. If this is a group operation, the individuals may communicate via cellphone so they know where to relocate or when to make a quick get-away.
4. You See the Same Person Over and Over
People who panhandle on a daily basis are often habitual and play off the sympathy of others. It’s possible that they are doing it as a job not out of need. And yes, there are a lot of the same people that frequent the same areas.
Two reports from HUD, roughly 60% of people panhandling are actually not in need, leaving roughly 4 in 10 people either homeless, penniless or simply in need of work.
Is it good to help others, yes indeed! BUT helping a scammer doesn't help truly needed people.
However, if you REALLY WANT TO HELP, then donate to a local organization that works with the homeless, those in need of food and clothes and organizations that help place families in housing too. You can find a list of them here.
While most people love to give to those in need, there are those people who panhandle as a method of income.
1. Their Gratitude or Attitude
One thing that helps to see if a person is truly in need is their attitude. While many people are leery of giving money, offer to buy them a sandwich or something to drink or even a days work for pay.
If they refuse the food, then they must not be in need.
Many alcoholics and drug dealers find that begging is one of the best ways to get the money they need for their next fix with meth, heroin or their drug of choice. Anyone that is truly down on their luck will gladly take any food that is offered to them, even if they just ate.
2. Their Appearance
If someone is homeless, you don’t expect them to be sitting there in nice clothes. Look for things that might tip you off that they are faking. Things like piercings, nice clothes, and even tennis shoes can be an indication of a fake. However, that doesn’t mean that people haven’t donated to them either. If they are a homeless person, they probably will need a good bath and may have an odor to prove it.
Also, a good indication of someone in real need is what they have with them. Someone in real need is going to have a bag or two, sometimes a sleeping bag with them. Think all their worldly possessions in a couple of bags. They are not going to put their stuff out of eye sight. People that are scamming you will NOT have these items so be on the lookout.
3. Observe the Surroundings
If the person is running a scam, they could be part of a larger group in operation. They may have a cell phone on them, or they may have a car parked close by for a quick getaway. Look for any abandoned cars or a bike close to them. If this is a group operation, the individuals may communicate via cellphone so they know where to relocate or when to make a quick get-away.
4. You See the Same Person Over and Over
People who panhandle on a daily basis are often habitual and play off the sympathy of others. It’s possible that they are doing it as a job not out of need. And yes, there are a lot of the same people that frequent the same areas.
Two reports from HUD, roughly 60% of people panhandling are actually not in need, leaving roughly 4 in 10 people either homeless, penniless or simply in need of work.
Is it good to help others, yes indeed! BUT helping a scammer doesn't help truly needed people.
However, if you REALLY WANT TO HELP, then donate to a local organization that works with the homeless, those in need of food and clothes and organizations that help place families in housing too. You can find a list of them here.
Hospital – Medical Breaches
Teaching hospitals are affiliated with medical schools, which use the facilities to help train future doctors. Teaching hospitals may offer more cutting edge technology and thinking, but also are typically more susceptible to patient data breaches. More people have access to patient data, increasing the risk and likelihood of personal information being left secure resulting in medical identify fraud in which someone else obtains medical care in your name and leaves you with bills and falsified medical records.
Data breaches affect health insurers, doctors' offices, hospital, laboratories, and other types of medical facilities. Reports must be submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services and to the media whenever the personal information of 500 or more people is breached.
Between 2009 and the end of 2016 141 hospitals reported breaches in patient information. The hospitals that reported data breaches were more likely to be major teaching hospitals than smaller teaching hospitals or nonteaching hospitals.
Limit the personal information you provide. Think twice before allowing the hospital to photocopy your driver's license or state ID, and if you permit this, make sure paper copies are shredded after they are scanned into a computer. Requests for SSNs are relics from the days when the number was necessary to bill you for services. Consider refusing and explain that you are concerned about security.
Data breaches affect health insurers, doctors' offices, hospital, laboratories, and other types of medical facilities. Reports must be submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services and to the media whenever the personal information of 500 or more people is breached.
Between 2009 and the end of 2016 141 hospitals reported breaches in patient information. The hospitals that reported data breaches were more likely to be major teaching hospitals than smaller teaching hospitals or nonteaching hospitals.
Limit the personal information you provide. Think twice before allowing the hospital to photocopy your driver's license or state ID, and if you permit this, make sure paper copies are shredded after they are scanned into a computer. Requests for SSNs are relics from the days when the number was necessary to bill you for services. Consider refusing and explain that you are concerned about security.
Travel – Boarding Passes
The seemingly innocent act of sharing a pic of your pass on social media could have serious repercussions.
According to KrebsonSecurity, websites exist that can read the barcode on your boarding pass and then hack your personal information, like your phone number, frequent flyer number, and info about all future flights you book through the same number.
That means they can then change your seat on your flight, cancel future flights, and even reset your account PIN entirely.
According to KrebsonSecurity, websites exist that can read the barcode on your boarding pass and then hack your personal information, like your phone number, frequent flyer number, and info about all future flights you book through the same number.
That means they can then change your seat on your flight, cancel future flights, and even reset your account PIN entirely.
Click Control
Think before you click.
Bad guys often use shock headlines or pictures to catch your attention. These links could lead you to malicious website links, viruses or Trojans.
Bad guys often use shock headlines or pictures to catch your attention. These links could lead you to malicious website links, viruses or Trojans.
Credit Card Fraud – Account Takeover
According to research firm ‘Javelin’, identity fraud was up 16 percent to a record high 15.4 million new victims in 2016. Though so-called ‘chip cards’ were introduced as a safe way to use credit, they can still be used at less-secure ‘swipe’ card machines. Adding to the problem, a device called a ‘shimmer’ can steal card-user information just like the skimmers often found in the past designed to target swipe cards.
Crooks are simply finding other ways to steal personal information. The most common is account takeover, up 61 percent in 2016.
By simply changing someone’s address through the Post Office, your identity can be stolen and all your personal accounts compromised. With the stolen information, the fraudster can then signed up for new credit cards.
You may get a change of address letter of confirmation from the Post Office but by then, the damage is done
Crooks are simply finding other ways to steal personal information. The most common is account takeover, up 61 percent in 2016.
By simply changing someone’s address through the Post Office, your identity can be stolen and all your personal accounts compromised. With the stolen information, the fraudster can then signed up for new credit cards.
You may get a change of address letter of confirmation from the Post Office but by then, the damage is done
ATM Shimmers – Skimmers
An ATM skimming device that can be inserted into the mouth of the cash machine’s card acceptance slot and used to read data directly off of chip-enabled credit or debit cards.
The “shimmer,” so named because it acts a shim that sits between the chip on the card and the chip reader in the ATM — recording the data on the chip as it is read by the ATM.
Cards equipped with a computer chip are more secure than cards which rely solely on magnetic stripes to store account data. Although the data that is typically stored on a card’s magnetic stripe is replicated inside the chip on chip-enabled cards, the chip contains an additional security components not found on a magnetic stripe.
One of those is a component known as an integrated circuit card verification value or “iCVV” for short. The iCVV differs from the card verification value (CVV) stored on the physical magnetic stripe, and protects against the copying of magnetic-stripe data from the chip and using that data to create counterfeit magnetic stripe cards.
Banks can run a simple check to see if any card inserted into an ATM is a counterfeit magnetic stripe card that is encoded with data stolen from a chip card. But there may be some instances in which banks are doing this checking incorrectly or not at all during some periods, and experts say the thieves have figured out which ATMs will accept magnetic stripe cards that are cloned from chip cards.
The bad guys have also learned which retailers are using the old card readers that do not yet accept the chip credit cards.
The “shimmer,” so named because it acts a shim that sits between the chip on the card and the chip reader in the ATM — recording the data on the chip as it is read by the ATM.
Cards equipped with a computer chip are more secure than cards which rely solely on magnetic stripes to store account data. Although the data that is typically stored on a card’s magnetic stripe is replicated inside the chip on chip-enabled cards, the chip contains an additional security components not found on a magnetic stripe.
One of those is a component known as an integrated circuit card verification value or “iCVV” for short. The iCVV differs from the card verification value (CVV) stored on the physical magnetic stripe, and protects against the copying of magnetic-stripe data from the chip and using that data to create counterfeit magnetic stripe cards.
Banks can run a simple check to see if any card inserted into an ATM is a counterfeit magnetic stripe card that is encoded with data stolen from a chip card. But there may be some instances in which banks are doing this checking incorrectly or not at all during some periods, and experts say the thieves have figured out which ATMs will accept magnetic stripe cards that are cloned from chip cards.
The bad guys have also learned which retailers are using the old card readers that do not yet accept the chip credit cards.
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