Everything lives online these days, so it's not uncommon to have hundreds of credentials for different accounts on apps and websites. That's why a password manager is a must, and your iPhone has one built right into iOS that you can start using today. In iOS 14, it's gotten even more useful since it can now monitor your passwords regularly to see if any match leaked password lists online.
Cyber threats are evolving every day, keeping up with them is a full-time job. The WESTprotect Cyber News is your source for how these changes affect you in the real estate, title, mortgage, and settlement services industry. From cyber threats to new Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP’s) we’ve got you covered.
Many people know about Phishing, a form of social engineering to deceive individuals into doing a hacker’s bidding. Hackers convince users to click on malicious links in an email resulting in malicious file downloads or redirection to credential-stealing websites. Smishing is a lesser-known form of phishing that targets smartphone users via text or SMS messages. When it’s successful, smishing tricks the recipient into taking some action.
The Department of Justice has charged a dozen mortgage and real estate professionals in a sprawling mortgage fraud scheme that allegedly spanned more than four years and resulted in the approval of more than 100 mortgages based on fabricated documents and phony information.
More than 200,000 complaints of scams and fraud have been filed so far this year, data from the Federal Trade Commission shows. Americans have lost more than $145 million to fraud related to the coronavirus, according to the Federal Trade Commission, which said it had fielded more than 200,000 complaints from consumers.
Department of Veterans Affairs admitted by press release that 46,000 veterans were victims of an agency data breach while withholding details that fired up some in Congress. The agency’s press release stated, “A preliminary review indicates these unauthorized users gained access to the application to change financial information and divert payments from VA by using social engineering techniques and exploiting authentication protocols.”