Airbnb has brought a new paradigm to the hospitality industry. It has become the go-to platform for persons looking to make additional income with their properties and travelers looking for unique accommodation experiences away from home. However, this new model and its appeal have also attracted individuals looking to exploit the platform for fraud. Scams on Airbnb are becoming increasingly common, as both hosts and guests are not left out from becoming targets.

Identity theft and card fraud are the main concerns associated with using debit and credit cards. Like any financial instrument, credit and debit cards are susceptible to certain security threats that can compromise cardholders' information and lead to credit card fraud or debit card fraud. Common examples of such financial security threats include card theft, phishing, skimming, malware, card cloning, vishing, weak passwords/PINs, and social engineering.

Sensitive personal data is among the most valuable information attached to us; it’s so valuable that there are international regulations for its maintenance, storage, and management. It is data that contains essential details about us, like Social Security Numbers (SSNs), bank accounts, tax IDs, health insurance data, and all the other “unique-to-one” credentials.

Every day, more people get online - most do it for leisure, but organizations are increasingly moving into the digital environment. The increasing number of these new end-point users makes it clear that the cyber world must evolve. No longer can experts argue for unique platform passwords when password fatigue is prominent, nor can cybersecurity defenders protect all the various attack junctures across multiple platforms and tools.

What is there to know about a person? Certainly, their name, but how about their affiliations, philosophical beliefs, or sexual orientation? The nuanced information about a person—including those elements listed above and more—falls into a data category called “personal information” or “personally identifying information” (PII).

Suppose someone left their home, got in their car, and drove to the grocery store. Much like data packets that travel over Internet highways, the car will use various pathways to reach its destination; however, once the car gets to the store, a question remains: what happened between the generating point and the destination? If nothing happened, the driver (our data) traveled safely and without incident.

Ever follow an ad featuring limited-time products to a company’s web page only to find they’re selling something else entirely? Or have you added a product to a cart only to discover a laundry list of issues, from poor quality to endless fees? Bait and switch (also called “bait-and-switch” or “B&S”) is a classification of fraudulent activities that most recognize as false advertising.