How to Steer Clear of Tax Season Scams
It’s that time of year again – tax season! Whether you’ve already filed in the hopes of an early refund or have yet to start the process, one thing is for sure: cybercriminals will certainly use tax season as a means to get victims to give up their personal and financial information. This time of […] more…Free iPad 3 Scams Steer Users to Bad Sites
Scammers have snatched up the opportunity to victimize people by leveraging the interest and anticipation over the upcoming release of iPad 3. Just days before its supposed launch, we have noted several posts on Facebook that claim to give away free iPad 3s to some “lucky” users. Unlike previous Facebook threats we’ve blogged recently, this […] more…‘Tis the Season for Holiday Scams
This time of year, the air not only gets chillier but a bit cheerier for everyone … including online scammers. Holiday scams are a quick way to make a buck, and cybercriminals employ several holiday-themed schemes to weasel money and personally identifiable information (PII) from gift givers. Here are three common holiday scams to watch […] more…How to Protect Your Social Media Accounts
Social media is part of our social fabric. So much so that nearly 50% of the global population are social media users to some degree or other. With all that sharing, conversing, and information passing between family and friends, social media can be a distinct digital extension of ourselves—making it important to know how you […] more…Seniors: How to Keep Your Retirement Safe from Online Scams
The growing number of internet crimes targeting senior adults is mind-blowing. In 2021, more than 92,000 people over the age of 60 reported losses of $1.7 billion, according to IC3, the FBI’s Internet Crime division. That number reflects a 74 percent increase in losses from 2020. These numbers tell us a few things. They tell […] more…Great R packages for data import, wrangling, and visualization
The table below shows my favorite go-to R packages for data import, wrangling, visualization and analysis — plus a few miscellaneous tasks tossed in. The package names in the table are clickable if you want more information. To find out more about a package once you’ve installed it, type help(package = "packagename") in your R […] more…How to Prepare for Your Child’s First Smartphone
If only more things in life came with training wheels; a child’s first smartphone could certainly use some. Like taking off the training wheels and riding out into the neighborhood for the first time, a smartphone opens an entirely new world for children. There are apps, social media, group chats with friends, TikTok stars, and the joy of simply being “in” with their classmates and […] more…3 Tips to a Holistic Online Security Approach
Cybersecurity is often used as a blanket term to address online safety. Cybersecurity can refer to the software used to protect your devices, but it can also refer to the processes you put in place to protect yourself from online threats. Whether you’re implementing best practices, building awareness of security threats, or installing security software, taking a holistic approach to online […] more…Beware of Social Media Scams
Social media is a great place to connect with friends and family. Unfortunately, it is also a great place for misinformation to run rampant, and it is a virtual treasure chest for cybercriminals to steal personal information. Over 25 million Canadians own a social media account, and more than 80% of the Canadian population is […] more…Fraudulent Apps that Automatically Charge you Money Spotted in Google Play
Google’s Android operating system has been a boon for the average consumer. No other operating system has given so much freedom to developers and hardware manufacturers to make quality devices at reasonable prices. The number of Android phones in the world is astounding. That success comes with a price, however. A recent report from our own […] more…Lets Have “The Talk” About the Internet: 7 Conversation-Starters for Staying Safer Online
It’s Time to Have “The Talk” About the Internet: 7 Conversation-Starters for Staying Much Safer Online With Safer Internet Day upon us, it’s time to have “The Talk.” The internet talk, that is. What’s the internet talk? It’s a candid conversation about how safe we’re really being when we go online, as opposed to how […] more…Take It Personally: Ten Tips for Protecting Your Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
Take It Personally: Ten Tips for Protecting Your Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Seems like we always have a connected device somewhere within arm’s reach, whether it’s a smartphone, laptop, tablet, a wearable, or some combination of them all. In a way, we bring the internet along with us nearly wherever we go. Yet there’s something […] more…Special Delivery: Criminals Posing as Amazon Are Out to Steal User’s Data
One of the joys of online shopping is instant gratification – your purchases arrive on your doorstep in just a few days! Unfortunately, consumers aren’t the only ones taking advantage of this convenience – hackers are also using it to trick users into handing over money or data. Recently, AARP recounted several scams where cybercriminals posed as Amazon’s customer […] more…Online Banking—Simple Steps to Protect Yourself from Bank Fraud
Online Banking—Simple Steps to Protect Yourself from Bank Fraud Even if you’re not big on online banking, online banking is big on you. Online banking is well on its way to becoming a cornerstone of the banking experience overall. More and more transactions occur over the internet rather than at a teller’s window, and nearly […] more…Medical Care #FromHome: Telemedicine and Seniors
Medical Care From Home: Telemedicine and Seniors For weeks and even months now, millions of us have relied on the internet in ways we haven’t before. We’ve worked remotely on it, our children have schooled from home on it, and we’ve pushed the limits of our household bandwidth as families have streamed, gamed, and conferenced […] more…Date Night #FromHome Ideas
Date Night #FromHome ideas “So, what movie should we watch?” The dreaded question. Twenty minutes of “mmm, maybe” later, you settle on an old episode of “The Office” and call it good. If that sounds a little too familiar, this post is for you. With so many of us having date night at home, now […] more…More information
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