Recently I became aware that many if not most home Wi-Fi routers are very easy to hack by cyber criminals. I thought, my mom has Wi-Fi, and so probably does your mom. So here is a letter you can share with your loved ones -- be they tech-savvy or not, to...

A recent article I wrote, titled "A Predator is Always a Predator," discussed the 750,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S., the thousands more unaccounted for, the thousands more who've never been caught, and the fact that predators live amongst us. In Cleveland, Ohio, the residents know this all...

You've done it. You've graduated at last. Your whole life is in front of you. Now is the time to make plans, embrace the world, take responsibility, make a statement, do some good and make this place better than how you found it.

And this should go without saying, but...

You might be sleeping, doing laundry in the basement, or simply watching TV, and you may accidentally walk into a burglar at work. The burglar may be just as surprised to see you as you are to see him.

The Associated Press reports that "Snohomish County sheriff's deputies acting...

The IRS has reported that it blocked $20 billion in tax refunds from bogus tax claims last year -- $6 billion more than the year before. That, readers, is progress.

At least the IRS calls it progress. What the figure really means is that more and more identity...

Googling yourself (or "egosurfing") is formally known as vanity searching -- the practice of searching for one's own name, pseudonym or screen name on a popular search engine in order to review the results.

The term egosurfing bugs me a bit because it insinuates people do it because they...

NFC is an acronym for near field communication, a wireless technology that allows devices to talk to each other. In the case of a mobile wallet application, those devices would be a mobile phone and a point-of-sale device, such as a credit card reader at a checkout counter. NFC can...

Grey charge: When you buy something with your credit card and you get charged for something you didn't want. Often a merchant will tack on additional products and services to a legitimate purchase you make, and you "sorta" know about the charge... but not really.

For example, you...

We've seen this before and it never ends good. This time it's resulting in an identity theft charge  for Ira Trey Quesenberry III, an 18-year-old student at Sullivan Central High School. A few years ago this would have been looked upon as a victimless prank. But times have...

Last week the Maryland Child Identity Lock bill went into effect. CBS Baltimore reports"

Maryland State Delegate Craig Zucker is behind a new state law that just went into effect designed to protect a child from identity theft. "It will be the first time parents or guardians...

Over the past 5 years a scam known as electronic funds transfers at the point of sale (EFTPOS ) or skimming has been prevalent. Consumers commonly swipe both credit and debit cards through the in-store machines to pay for goods and services and hackers have been adept at coming up...

The holidays are supposed to be a fun-filled time for celebrating with family and friends, but cybercriminals see this as a time of opportunity. They look to take advantage of us during this time when we're in the spirit of giving and when we're scrambling to get our gifts purchased,...

A mobile device is an indispensable extension of your life, containing some of your most private conversations and confidential information. It's your phone book, email, photo album, social life, and even your wallet, all rolled into one device. Chances are if you own a smartphone or tablet, it is connected...

Contactless payment, also known as NFC or near field communication, is a technology that allows electronic devices to communicate wirelessly. In the case of a mobile wallet application, those devices would typically be a mobile phone and a point of sale terminal at a checkout counter. (NFC has other...

Would you dare a burglar to break into your home while your family was sleeping? Would you taunt a murderer or serial killer to try and get you? And would you say to a gang of thieves "just try and break into my business." Perhaps if you are a little...

While PC-based online banking is not much older than a high school student, mobile banking is still in elementary school. With the proliferation of smartphones, however, online banking's younger sibling is quickly catching up to the slightly more established option.

Banking through your PC's web browser offers a full menu...

For the 12th year in a row, identity theft complaints top the list of consumer complaints received by the Federal Trade Commission. Fifteen percent of more than 1.8 million total complaints filed in 2011 involved identity theft.

Javelin Strategy & Research estimates that nearly 12 million Americans were...

Over the past 15 years, the increasingly rapid evolution of technology has resulted in new computers or mobile phones becoming outdated in a matter of one or two years. Chances are, you've gone through no less than ten digital devices in the past decade, if not more. It has become...

mCommerce, or mobile commerce, refers to financial transactions conducted via smartphones or other mobile devices. But are mobiles really meant for financial transactions?

While about a third of mobile phone users remain unwilling to dabble in mCommerce due to identity theft concerns, the majority of users are apparently comfortable...

"Carders" are the people who buy, sell, and trade stolen credit card data online. This carding forum video provides an example of an online forum where stolen credit cards are bought and sold.

Hackers rely on a variety of techniques to obtain credit card data. One such data theft...