[IS&T Security-FYI] SFYI Newsletter, April 29, 2013

[Monique Yeaton]

In this issue:


1. Fraud Statistics That May Surprise You

2. Protecting Your Twitter Account



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1. Fraud Statistics That May Surprise You

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Fraud is nothing new. Scammers have been attempting to trick consumers into spending money on fake (or non-existent) products for a long time.


However, what IS new is how we are getting scammed. Did you know that one third of people who reported being scammed first learned of the fake pitch online? The other sources are print ads, TV and radio, and telemarketing calls. When you consider that fraud harms 25.6 million people in the U.S. in one year (from a survey done in 2011), that adds up to a lot of people. That's about one in every 10 adults in the U.S.


Learn more about the survey done by the Federal Trade Commission here<http://www.business.ftc.gov/blog/2013/04/fraud-harms-256-million-people-anyone-you-know>.


Are you one of those affected? Learn how you can avoid or report fraud<http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0060-10-ways-avoid-fraud>.



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2. Protecting Your Twitter Account

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Last week a group called the Syrian Electronic Army hijacked the Twitter account of the Associated Press and sent out an erroneous message reporting explosions at the White House that injured President Obama.


Moments later it was confirmed that the Twitter account had been hacked and the president was unharmed. Twitter suspended the account, but by then the post had moved markets. The Dow Jones Industrial average plummeted by 150 points and then surged back.


The AP's account is the sixth prominent Twitter account to be hacked in recent months, according to the New York Times<http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/hacked-a-p-twitter-feed-sends-erroneous-message-about-explosions-at-white-house/>.


This causes some concern about the security measures put in place to protect Twitter accounts, especially those with high profiles. The info graphic in this article<http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/twitter-hackers_b14222> shows just how dangerous hacking can be when a news source that is trusted has been targeted by hackers.


Learn how to protect your Twitter account by following these five tips<http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/protecting-your-twitter-account_b40607>:


  1.  Create unique passwords across all your social accounts. How strong are your passwords<http://kb.mit.edu/confluence/x/3wNt>?
  2.  Monitor your third-party apps.
  3.  Don't click on links from people you don't know.
  4.  Update your computer and operating system as well as your anti-virus software.
  5.  Sign out when done, especially on public computers.


Know what to do if your account has already been hacked<http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9238693/How_to_Recover_From_a_Twitter_Hack?taxonomyId=17>.



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Read all Security FYI Newsletter articles and submit comments online at http://securityfyi.wordpress.com/.

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Monique Yeaton
IT Security Communications Consultant
MIT Information Services & Technology (IS&T)
(617) 253-2715
http://ist.mit.edu/security


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