February 12, 2024

Avoiding Tax Scams

53 minutes

It’s tax time here again in the USA, and therefore it’s also time for tax scams. I’ll explain how to recognize common tax scams, how to respond to them, how to prevent scammers from taking over your IRS account and even filing fraudulent tax returns in your name.

In other news: the Mother of All Breaches (MOAB) contains 26 billion records; 23andMe is in trouble after massive data breach and pending class action lawsuits; a viral story about a smart toothbrush botnet isn’t true… but could have been; a clever hack of older computer TPM modules could expose encrypted hard drive data (but it’s not easy to do); Malwarebytes has issued their 2024 malware report; the FBI and CISA are raising the alarm over Chinese hackers and key US infrastructure, as well as taking action to prevent it; you might want to consider creating a family password to defeat voice clone scams; Mozilla has released a new data deletion service; and Privacy4Cars has an interesting new mechanism for universally opting out of data collection.

Article Links

[cybernews] Mother of all breaches reveals 26 billion records https://cybernews.com/security/billions-passwords-credentials-leaked-mother-of-all-breaches/

[Fast Company] 23andMe at risk of being delisted from the Nasdaq as lawsuits mount https://www.fastcompany.com/91020738/23andme-risk-delisted-nasdaq-class-action-lawsuits

[404media.co] The Viral Smart Toothbrush Botnet Story Almost Certainly Isn’t Real https://www.404media.co/the-viral-toothbrush-ddos-botnet-story-almost-certainly-isnt-real/

[Tom’s Hardware] YouTuber breaks BitLocker encryption in less than 43 seconds with sub-$10 Raspberry Pi Pico https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/youtuber-breaks-bitlocker-encryption-in-less-than-43-seconds-with-sub-dollar10-raspberry-pi-pico

[9to5Mac] Report: Mac security threats on the rise, here’s what to watch out for https://9to5mac.com/2024/02/06/report-mac-security-threats-on-the-rise/

[NBC News] FBI director to warn Chinese hackers aim to ‘wreak havoc’ on US critical infrastructure https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/fbi-director-warn-chinese-hackers-aim-wreak-havoc-us-critical-infrastr-rcna136524

[Ars Technica] Chinese malware removed from SOHO routers after FBI issues covert commands https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/01/chinese-malware-removed-from-soho-routers-after-fbi-issues-covert-commands/

[cisa.gov] CISA and FBI Release Secure by Design Alert Urging Manufacturers to Eliminate Defects in SOHO Routers https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2024/01/31/cisa-and-fbi-release-secure-design-alert-urging-manufacturers-eliminate-defects-soho-routers

[9to5Mac] FCC outlaws voice cloning robocalls after AI-generated voice claimed to be President Biden https://9to5mac.com/2024/02/08/voice-cloning-robocalls/

[Electronic Frontier Foundation] Worried about AI voice clone scams? Create a family password https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/01/worried-about-ai-voice-clone-scams-create-family-password

[The Verge] Firefox maker Mozilla has a new subscription to keep your info out of data brokers’ clutches https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/6/24062765/mozilla-monitor-plus-firefox-paid-subscription-privacy-data-broker-removal-requests

[optoutcode.com] A Privacy4Cars Universal Opt-Out Concept https://optoutcode.com/

Tip of the Week: Avoiding Tax Scams https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/how-to-avoid-tax-scams/

Further Info

Secure Your Network: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/secure-your-network-part-1-scan/

Davos speech, original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJoEPRQMBuY

Davos speech, translated: https://www.youtube.com/live/6Fwv9Cek2F4?feature=shared&t=98

How to enable Global Privacy Control: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/how-to-enable-global-privacy-control/

How to send files securely: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/how-to-send-files-securely-like-tax-info/

Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna

Check out my book, Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons: https://fdsd.me/book

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Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons

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Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.

0:01:57: News rundown

0:04:04: Mother of all breaches reveals 26 billion records

0:07:36: 23andMe at risk of being delisted from the Nasdaq as lawsuits mount

0:10:20: Viral Smart Toothbrush Botnet Story Isn’t Real

0:13:22: YouTuber breaks BitLocker encryption in less than 43 seconds with sub-$10 Raspberry Pi Pico

0:18:31: Mac security threats on the rise

0:22:27: FBI director to warn Chinese hackers aim to ‘wreak havoc’ on US critical infrastructure

0:23:55: Chinese malware removed from SOHO routers after FBI issues covert commands

0:29:48: CISA and FBI Release Secure by Design Alert Urging Manufacturers to Eliminate Defects in SOHO Routers

0:33:39: FCC outlaws voice cloning robocalls after AI-generated voice claimed to be President Biden

0:38:12: Worried about AI voice clone scams? Create a family password

0:42:17: Firefox maker Mozilla has a new subscription to keep your info out of data brokers’ clutches

0:43:58: A Privacy4Cars Universal Opt-Out Concept

0:46:44: Tip of the Week: Avoiding tax scams

0:51:51: Looking ahead

...more

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By Carey Parker

4.9

6464 ratings