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Fraudsters are getting super fancy

Frauds of all types have been on the rise and with everyone at home, under pressure and stressed, it’s easy to fall victim.

And then you have the added factor that fraud schemes are getting very sophisticated… check this story out:

When in Doubt: Hang Up, Look Up, & Call Back [Krebs on Security] – “Today’s lesson in how not to get scammed comes from “Mitch,” the pseudonym I picked for a reader in California who shared his harrowing tale on condition of anonymity. Mitch is a veteran of the tech industry — having worked in security for several years at a fairly major cloud-based service — so he’s understandably embarrassed that he got taken in by this confidence scheme.”

The complexity of that scam is pretty amazing.

About a year ago, I was locked out of my Vanguard account for a couple days because of fraud. Someone was trying to log into a lot of different accounts and mine was one of them. They were successful with the credentials but 2FA saved me because I received the confirmation code. Vanguard never gave them access, did more investigation and saw that the person had tried to log into a few accounts. I changed my passwords (fortunately it was one I didn’t repeat anywhere, which makes me wonder how they got it!) and after verifying my identity, all was well. Still scary though.

It’s Okay to Be in Debt, Just Not Okay to Stay in Debt [Financial Pilgrimage] – “Ever since college I always thought I was good with money. At least, that’s what I’d tell myself in my 20s. At the age of 25 I was completely debt free! Yet, somehow managed to accumulate nearly $200,000 in debt by age 30. Most purchases were relatively normal in this day and age. A house, student loans, newer cars, wedding, a condo at the lak. Oh wait, a lake house is not normal but it happened. While getting into debt was not ideal, I really don’t regret any of it and thankfully we had the financial means to dig out. I know not everyone is as fortunate. Regardless, this is our story.”

And for this last one, would you try a bowl?

Long-Simmering Soup,/a> [Gastro Obscura] – “At a Bangkok bistro, one pot of beef stew has been cooking non-stop for more than 45 years.”

Enjoy the day Apexian!