At HV Shred, one of our goals with this Blog is to keep our community informed of the latest scams. Last month, the FBI reported that it was continuing to receive reports of spam e-mails that use FBI officials’ names and titles in online fraud schemes. Although there are different variations of these schemes, recipients…
Note: Next Friday, November 1st and Saturday, November 2nd may be the last time locals in the Hudson River Valley can recycle their CRT containing devices (televisions and computer monitors) for free!!! Regulars to this blog know beyond best practices in document security we also aim to be a resource for electronics recycling. We have…
As a review of best practices, this week we focus on the pitfalls of phishing. It’s nothing new, but sometimes it helps to have a reminder. If you open an email or text, and see a message like: “We suspect an unauthorized transaction on your account. To ensure that your account is not compromised, please…
One of our newest favorite blogs to follow is Staysafeonline.org. In a recent post by Emily Eckland, Director of Digital Strategy & Awareness Campaigns, she shared valuable tips for using Wi-Fi spot while vacationing this summer. It’s a great convenience to be able to use our devices in airports, hotels, train stations, coffee shops and…
The new movie “Identity Thief” makes for a good laugh; unfortunately, experiencing Identity Theft is anything but funny. We often use this blog to pass along good hints and tips from the Identity Theft Resource Council. One of our favorites of course is their acronym: SHRED. S: Strengthen passwords online. Don’t use the same password…
In the wake of the “truth is stranger than fiction” Manti T’eo story and the upcoming Valentine’s holiday, it seems like an opportune time to review some basic online safety precautions. Not to mention, MTV’s “Catfish” show chronicles stories of people falling in love online and being fooled when they discover the person they’ve been…
In another installment of keeping identities safe, this week we review some of the best practices for safe password selection and management. Surprisingly, even in today’s security-conscious environment, the word “password” and the sequence “123456” remain some of the most common passwords! That makes for funny movie moments (Spaceballs is one of my favorites), but…
We regularly check in with the latest tips from the Identity Theft Resource Center and share what we learn in this blog. According to “Solution #25”, what follows is some great advice on detecting scams. According to ITRC, thieves are coming up with more and more devious ways to try and trick you into…
Thanks to a recent post on Fraud Avengers.com, we would like to share information to help our community look after what appears to be among our most vulnerable population: our senior citizens. According to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, seniors are targets for countless forms of fraud, ranging from simple home repair scams, to…
We typically use this weekly space to share the latest on identity theft resources. With the summer winding down and our favorite focus on supporting the community, this week we opt to use the space to encourage all within reasonable distance to attend the Dutchess County Fair. According to Colleen Cruikshank’s article in the Poughkeepsie…