As far back as I can remember I would often be approached in parking lots by someone in a van who was trying to sell me home stereo speakers. The speakers were always from a retailer’s loading dock or from trucks that had extra unaccounted inventory. And today was my lucky day.  The ruse was when you got the speakers loaded into your trunk, you were generally getting them in their new box. But the box just had pieces of wood.  Anyone thinking they were getting a deal, was just getting firewood. This is classic bait and switch.  Be more aware of these scams and protect yourself from them.

A twist on this scam happening all over is with laptops. The Business and Heritage reports “As a woman got out of her vehicle, she was approached by a man who had exited from his car. In his car were a woman in the front seat and a kid in the back. He approached the woman and showed her a laptop.  He explained that his girlfriend is a manager at Best Buy and that he had gotten a great deal on some laptops like the one he had. But, no

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On September 22-24, the Online Trust Alliance is hosting the Online Trust & Cybersecurity Forum at Georgetown University in Washington DC. The event is designed to bring together worldwide leaders specializing in marketing, advertising, law enforcement, public policy, privacy and cybersecurity. Focusing on the theme of “Megacommunities”; the event will feature sessions that focus on how governments, business and NGOs need to work together, to develop innovative and trusted online services. In addition, if you are an ITAC member you can get 50% off on your registration to attend the event. Please use this promotional code when registering: ITAC50.

Following is an exclusive podcast with Craig Speizle, Executive Director and Founder of Online Trust Alliance who discusses this event and other cybersecurity trends.

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Anyone could be an identity theft victim and if you might have not known it yet, millions of people fall on the hands of these thieves and stunning billions of dollars a year are lost due to this crime. When one’s identity get stolen, it takes months and sometimes even years before he realizes it. There are times when you see some charges unknown to you in your bills; thinking that it is something that just slipped your mind you just brush it off. If it happens every now and then, better have the hint that you’ve already lost your identity.

You might sometimes wonder how could someone know and use your personal information when you can’t remember giving out any information to any individual or any company. Identity theft criminals have a lot other ways of collecting other people’s personal information.

For identity thieves, your trash could be their treasure. If you’re thinking how then read on. Some of y

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Welcome to the Monday Morning News Kick Off post from the ITAC blog. Once again it is Monday, and once again, it is time to get back into the work groove. Well, the editorial staff at the ITAC blog was kind enough to pull together all the key identity theft, cyber security and data breach stories you need to start your week on the right foot. And, this week, we even linked to a story from E! News (that is a first) – we can’t help but cover a story about a pseudo-celebrity being charged for identity theft.

Inside the Russian Cyber-Underground When people think of cyber-crime, the typical image being pushed today is that of highly organized criminal operations. New research, however, suggests the underbelly of cyber-space may be less mafia-like than some think. In an effort to improve the level of understanding of today’s black hats, security researchers Fyodor Yarochkin and “The Grugq” have spent several months looking at Russian hacker forums. “It is an

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