The invasion of Ukraine has caused enormous human tragedy with millions displaced and many more in desperate need of basic supplies and transport. Donation websites quickly appeared to make supporting Ukraine easy—so quick, in fact, that it was reminiscent of the 2019 Notre Dame de Paris fire and the immediate groundswell of enthusiasm that followed for rebuilding the iconic church.
It's somehow fitting that Groundhog Day and tax scam season overlap. Much like the 1993 Bill Murray film where he repeatedly experienced the same day, tax season scammers come out of their hole every year at the same time and tend to use the same attack methods against organizations and regular taxpayers. These scammers stick to these tried-and-true methods because they still work.
To carry out business email compromise (BEC) fraud, a con artist impersonates an organization’s senior manager, business partner, or supplier and tries to manipulate an employee into transferring money to the wrong destination. The rogue message typically comes from a spoofed or previously hacked email address, which makes the foul play highly persuasive. Essentially, BEC is a type of phishing focused on the enterprise.
Malicious actors always try to be creative and find new ways to trick people into a scam. In this case a new website is offering 75% discount on all Timberland shoes. The information looks almost identical to the original page, but when looking closer questions start to pop.
Phishing attempts over text messages are becoming more prevalent. I received an SMS text message that contained a phishing attempt for a Canadian Bank. The message implied that I have received a new notification with this bank and I should visit the provided link. I usually do not click on any links, but I decided to see what would happen when I navigated to the page.
Oculus (also now known as Meta) Quest is a virtual reality headset and game craze created by Facebook, and it is the ultimate tech must-have for the holidays in 2021. My 11-year-old son is obsessed with it and during the past few months it has been impossible to get due to a recall and the wait for the new Quest 2 to be released.
It’s a sure sign that year-end is fast approaching when stores start to display their holiday merchandise and decorations before Hallowe’en is even over. As you start planning for a successful 2022, and focus on payment security and frictionless customer experience, consider the global financial, regulatory and economic factors that will impact your business.
Grooming is a method of establishing a connection with a person to perpetrate a crime against them. Grooming is becoming more common in fraud, both online as well as in interpersonal interactions. What’s more, scammers are getting more sophisticated in their techniques. There is a mistaken belief that scammers are forceful, arrogant, and therefore easy to spot, but many play a long game, carefully and patiently grooming the victim before asking for money.
These days, when I cautiously venture to my favourite shopping mall on a weekend, I notice how different it is from a year-and-a-half ago, when no one had ever heard of COVID-19. It is busy, but not nearly as busy as it was back then. Sadly, I can rarely find my shoe size as merchandise stocks are low due to COVID-related supply chain issues.
