A quick-thinking title company owner was able to stop a fraudulent sale when it appeared the scammer was using AI to try to steal properties.
Everything we know about the MoneyGram breach
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Another day, another massive data breach. This time, it’s MoneyGram, a global mega-company that handles money transfers, bill pay and other financial services. They have digital platforms and retail locations, and they even power Walmart’s money-transfer service.
There’s no formal statement yet on exactly how many people were impacted, but we do know MoneyGram has over 150 million customers worldwide.
The whole shebang, exposed
In their official statement, MoneyGram says an unauthorized third party (aka a vendor, hacker or group of hackers) accessed and acquired a ton of personal info between Sept. 20 and Sept. 22. MoneyGram didn’t discover the break-in until about a week later, on Sept. 27.
MoneyGram says the following types of customer data have been compromised:
- Social Security numbers and government ID documents
- Contact information, including email, addresses and phone numbers
- Birthdates
- Bank account numbers
- Utility bills
- MoneyGram Plus Rewards information and transaction information
- Criminal investigation information (like fraud) for “a limited number of consumers”
MoneyGram is working with external cybersecurity experts and law enforcement. It generally takes a few weeks or even months to discover the full extent of breaches like this and all those impacted. In the meantime, they’re providing customers with free identity protection and credit monitoring services for two years.
Whenever a big breach like this happens …
… It’s always a good idea to take a proactive approach with your credit file. If you’ve used MoneyGram before, place a security freeze on your credit report with each of the three major credit reporting agencies. Here’s how:
- Equifax: Visit Equifax.com and follow the steps to freeze online. By phone, call 1‑888‑298‑0045. For snail-mail requests: Print this and mail it to Equifax Information Services LLC, P.O. Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348‑5788.
- Experian: To do it online, visit the Experian Freeze Center. By phone, call 1‑888‑EXPERIAN (1‑888‑397‑3742), or submit your request in writing to Experian Security Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013.
- TransUnion: Add a freeze online on the TransUnion website. Call 1‑888‑916‑8800, or mail TransUnion, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094.
Once you’ve placed the freeze, you’ll get a personal identification number or password to temporarily lift or remove the freeze. Make sure you keep this info in a safe place.
And there’s a fourth credit reporting agency now
I wasted 36 hours trying to do it myself
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So many of the calls, emails, messages and DMs I get are about privacy and security. I can’t remember the last time I had a full day where no one asked me some version of “How do I get all this info about me off the internet?”
‘It is not real': Title company owner warns of new twist to title fraud
🇨🇳 Remember when Verizon went down a few weeks ago? Chinese hackers were targeting phones used by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance, the New York Times reported. Verizon says they’re working with law enforcement. I’m sure the Harris campaign is being targeted, too. You couldn’t pay me enough to run for office.
293% increase
In email attacks, compared to last year. Email scams exploded in the first half of 2024, including increases in ransomware, malware and phishing attempts. AI might not be helping tech companies turn a profit yet, but it’s sure helping cyber crooks.
Massive data leak impacts 1 in 3 Americans
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Data broker MC2 Data left more than 100 million records of Americans exposed online for anyone to copy, grab, forward, sell on the Dark Web — you name it. This comes only a month after the National Public Data breach of 2.9 billion records. I’m getting so tired of these data broker companies and people-search sites screwing up, and it’s you and me who have to pay for their mistakes.
So much data left exposed for anyone to see
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Another day, another monumental data breach. Just because they’re getting more common doesn’t mean you can tune it out. In fact, it’s time to get even more serious about your private information and what’s posted online.
Hidden cameras in your bushes
Criminals want to get to know your schedule … so they know exactly the right time to attack. Beware of camouflaged cameras recording every time you leave the house.
💳 PayPal update: Starting Nov. 27, PayPal will share your purchasing data with third-party merchants — think products, preferences, sizes and styles. Yes, you can stop it. In the app, tap your profile photo at the top right, followed by Data and privacy. Under Manage shared info, tap Personalized shopping, and toggle off the switch. On desktop, click the settings gear icon in the top right, then select Data & Privacy > Personalized shopping to toggle off the slider. It never stops …
Apalachee High School shooting: A teacher says a newly installed tech system called Centegix prevented even more casualties on Sept. 4. Staff carry digital cards that instantly alert law enforcement to a physical threat on campus. Officers arrived at the school within two minutes of the first shots going off. We need this to roll out nationwide now.
Heads-up, Gmail user: Starting Sept. 30, you won’t be able to use your Google Workspace account to log into third-party apps or devices that require only a username and password to sign up. If you see errors like “Invalid username,” “Invalid password” or “Unable to log in,” create a new account with the site instead of trying to log in with Google.
Elder fraud is on the rise – These are the most common scams
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Here’s a stat that blows me away: One in every 10 seniors is a victim of identity theft each year. Americans over the age of 60 lost $3.4 billion in fraud schemes in 2023. That’s almost an 11% increase from the year before, and things are only getting worse.
When you don’t excel, people spreadsheet: On Tuesday, July 30, Outlook was stalling, the Starbucks app crashed and Office 365 was down for eight hours. We now know a cyberattack took down the cloud computing system Microsoft Azure and a ton of apps and services with it. D’oh! Microsoft’s attempts to stop the attacks actually made the outages worse.
Byte-Ban: Starting Aug. 15, U.S. House of Representatives staffers are banned from using all ByteDance apps on government devices. TikTok’s already out, but now the ban includes photo-editing apps CapCut and Hypic, chat app Lark and social media app Lemon8. It all comes down to TikTok’s ties to Communist China. I’m surprised it took them this long.
Update to iOS 17.6 ASAP: It packs 35 security fixes, tackling vulnerabilities that could let hackers control your phone. Don’t wait for it to pop up. On iPhone XS or later, go to Settings > General > Software Update now. Update your iPad, too, if you have one.
AT&T data breach: Who’s at risk and what to do now
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AT&T dropped some big and very bad news this morning: “Nearly all” customers had text and call data leaked in a massive cyberattack. We’re talking 95 million people.
“Kim, really? Another data breach?” I know, but don’t tune this one out. It has scary implications for your privacy.
New scam: The government won't ask for gold
Share with someone who might be at risk of falling victim to this junk. So sad.
Ticket heist: Cybercriminals are selling fake tickets online for the upcoming Paris Olympics. It’s a large-scale effort with over 700 fake domains. Telltale signs? Spelling and grammar mistakes and super inflated prices. Stick to the official sales platform.
Keep a tracker hidden in your car
I use an AirTag to always know where my car is. The key is to hide the tracker so a thief doesn’t know about it. The better hidden it is, the better off you’ll be.
Finding stolen cars on Facebook
You can never be too careful when it comes to your stuff. I suggest putting an Airtag or Tile in your car so you’re always covered. I did it!