fraud

I was reading the * Malwarebytes 2019 'State of Malware' Report today and one part of it that particularly interested me was related to Phishing Attacks.The reason I found this particularly interesting is that I seem to get A LOT of phishing emails.I won't go into all of the reasons why, but a lot of it has to do with the fact that I own a couple dozen domain names including this one and I don't try to hide my identity on any of them.You can easily find me at Bill@Since1849.com on many of those sites as well as on the sites of many of our insurance companies.I HATE phishing emails and I particularly resent what is called 'spear phishing' attacks.Simply put, a phishing attack might appear to be from American Express or Google or Sam's Club or a bank.They are often fairly general and claim that you need to log on to a website to check or reset your password.Spear phishing on the other hand is very direct and appears to be a more personal email from someone that you work with or perhaps someone that is a vendor or insurance company.They may have links, but more likely they might have attachments that are named things like Invoice or Your Order or Payment or SexyPic or whatever - - - all of these are designed to trick you into opening the document and view it.Sometimes they are harmless, but more often they contain Trojans or Viruses that are designed to compromise your computer or help the 'actor' gain access to information on your network.

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Social Media is all the rave today.Young and Old alike love 'selfies' and telling all of their friends about their exciting lifestyles - like 'Didn't have my coffee yet' or 'at McDonald's Drive Through", but did you know that Social Media is also playing an increasing roll in uncovering Workers' Compensation Fraud?It's true - every week or two I see another article that shows how valuable Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and similar services can prove in uncovering fraudulent WC Claims.A few weeks ago, it was reported that a former public servant who allegedly had a disabling job-related injury had been 'seen' on Facebook carrying loads of shingles up-and-down a ladder and even remarking about how tired he was from his work.The Social Media investigation was adequate to have his claim overturned and he was ordered to return $68,000 in lost-time benefits and may face a prison sentence.

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