Office of Data Protection Commissioner in Ireland Advises People on New SMS Scam Campaign
The office of the Data Protection Commissioner in Ireland recently issued a security alert warning people of a Short Message Service (SMS) scam campaign. The message appears to come from the office of the Data Protection Commissioner and urges people to call on the provided telephone number. The scam message attempts to create urgency by informing the potential victims that they are involved in a data breach. Scammers ask people who fall prey to the scam to reveal names, addresses, and Personal Public Service (PPS) number. The Office of the Commissioner has urged people to report such scam messages and avoid calling and revealing any personal or financial information. Scammers may use the extracted information to launch sophisticated spear phishing attacks and conducting identity theft or fraud. They may use the extracted information to seek or claim undue educational, health, housing, social welfare and tax benefits.
Attackers are now using all forms of channels to deceive users. The latest scam follows an earlier Internet Phone scam, wherein scammers misrepresented as a Microsoft employee, alert target victims that their computers are infected with virus and offer help to clean their systems.
Voice phishing is another type of identity theft, which fraudsters use to seek sensitive information over phone call. Targeted Victims are directed through automated calls and text messages to call on an Automated Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS). When people call on the specified number, the fraudster on the other side masquerades as that of a representative of a bank or other legitimate organization gives instructions. When the victims abides by the instructions and enters credit card number and Personal Identification number (PIN), the scammer gets access to those details. People must avoid responding to such SMS messages and hang up phone calls seeking confidential information. Counter crime professionals may take advantage of online technology degree programs and acquaint themselves of latest security and monitoring mechanisms.
E-tutorials, workshops and online computer degree programs may help individuals to understand different forms of security threats and initiate precautionary measures.
As scammers may also target employees such as those related to government, military and banking through vishing and spear phishing campaigns, organizations must educate their staff on IT security policy. Professionals qualified in IT masters degree program may help organizations on understanding the risks in the business environment and initiate measures to strengthen the defenses against sophisticated threats.
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EC-Council
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EC-Council University is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico and offers Master of Security Science (MSS) degree to students from various backgrounds such as graduates, IT Professionals, and military students amongst several others. The MSS is offered as a 100% online degree program and allows EC-Council University to reach students from not only the United States, but from all around the world.
EC-Council is a member-based organization that certifies individuals in cybersecurity and e-commerce skills. It is the owner and developer of 16 security certifications, including Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI) and EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA)/License Penetration Tester (LPT). Its certificate programs are offered in over 60 countries around the world.
EC-Council has trained over 80,000 individuals and certified more than 30,000 members, through more than 450 training partners globally. These certifications are recognized worldwide and have received endorsements from various government agencies including the U.S. federal government via the Montgomery GI Bill, Department of Defense via DoD 8570.01-M, National Security Agency (NSA) and the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS). EC-Council also operates the global series of Hacker Halted security conferences.
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