How thousands of dollars were stolen from me and why security is important.

23 Oct 2017 • cybersecurity

Privacy and security are important. In 2015, my wife and I had thousands of dollars stolen by tax fraud. We weren’t the only ones. “As of December 31, 2015, the IRS reported that it identified 835,183 tax returns claiming approximately $4.3 billion in potentially fraudulent tax refunds.”[1] Hackers take private information (names, social security numbers, addresses, etc.) from previous attacks and file tax returns to be sent to them instead. “The 2017 Identity Fraud Study, released by Javelin Strategy & Research, found that $16 billion was stolen from 15.4 million U.S. consumers in 2016.”[2]

Security: past and present

Until the last decade, most people have had the luxury of not needing to worry about cybersecurity. Hackers were an abstract idea or a concern for government entities. Today, however, you can’t find someone who hasn’t received an email from a “Nigerian Prince” who wants to give them a million dollars or a call from a company wanting to give them a “free” cruise.

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The Equifax Breach: What does it mean for you?

09 Oct 2017 • cybersecurity

My goal for this blog is to provide super practical privacy and cybersecurity advice for people who don’t know about, don’t care about, or don’t have time to research the best ways to take control of their privacy and security. Here’s a breakdown of the most recent Equifax hack and the steps you should take to protect yourself.

What happened?

Equifax, one of the three main credit bureaus, was attacked by hackers on one of their systems during which they (the hackers) obtained access to 143 million Americans’ data. The odds are that you are a part of that number. The personal information they had access to included names, social security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and more.

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