If you haven’t received an email alerting you to a security breach from a retailer you do business with, chances are it’s just a matter of days before you get one.  I’ve heard from dozens of viewers who update me daily on yet another business that was impacted by a security breach at Epsilon Data Management.   

On March 30, Epsilon began notifying its corporate clients of a security breach in which potentially 40 billion customers may have had their email addresses compromised.  At this point, Epsilon believes that the breach is limited to names and emails only.  Retailers involved in the security breach are reaching out to their customers warning them not to respond to requests for personal or account information, including login names and passwords. 

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin says there are a numbe of things you should follow to prevent phishing schemes:

-If you receive an email from a company and it asks you to “link” to another site to verify your personal information, don’t do it.  Always enter the URL manually

-Never enter any personal information in a web page that you were linked to through an email or text message

-A legitamate financial institution will NEVER ask you to provide personal identifying information in an email

-If you aren’t sure whether the email you received is from a legitamate company you do business with, contact them by telephone and simply ask

Here is a list of some of the companies affected by the breach:

Ameriprise Financial;Best Buy;Brookstone;Capital One;Citi;Disney Destinations;Home Shopping Network;JP Morgan Chase;Kroger;LL Bean Visa Card;Marriott Rewards;McKinsey & Company;New York & Company;Robert Half Technologies;The College Board (which manages SAT and other college prep services) TiVo;US Bank and Walgreens.

AG Kilmartin says it’s believed additional companies’ information has been breached, yet a complete list has not been released by Epsilon.

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s office reached a settlement with The Briar Group, which owns and operates several popular bars and restaurants in the Boston area, including The Lenox, MJ O’Connor’s, Ned Devine’s, The Green Briar and The Harp. 

The settlement resolves allegations that the restaurant chain failed to take reasonable steps to protect its customers’ personal information, “thereby putting the payment card information of tens of thousands of consumers at risk,” according to Attorney General Martha Coakley.  “When consumers use their credit and debit cards at Massachusetts establishments, they have an expectation that their personal information will be propertly protected,” AG Coakley said.  “In this instance, the Briar Group did not take proper protections to protect customers’ personal information. In addition to the payment, this agreement also works to ensure that steps have been taken to protect consumer information moving forward.”

According to a lawsuit filed,  in April 2009 the Briar Group experienced a data breach when malcode installed on the company’s computer system allowed hackers access to customers’ credit and debit card information, including names and account numbers.   Also according to the lawsuit, the malcode was not removed from the Briar Group’s computers until December 2009.

Under the terms of the settlement, all The Briar Group’s restaurants must develop a security password manangement system and implement data security measures to protect its customers in the future.

By now, most of us are getting pretty savvy to phishing attempts to our personal email accounts.  Most of them end up in our deleted folder, never to be seen from again.  For those of you who need a quick refresher course on “phishing”…they’re emails from fake companies that appear to look like they’re from our bank, the IRS or a legitamate company.  The scammer then asks us to “click” on a link directing us to a page to “update our personal information” for their records.  But what you are realling linking to is a fake website that captures your information and uses it to defraud you.

Now the Rhode Island Attorney General, Peter Kilmartin is warning small businesses to be on the lookout.  According to a press release sent to Call 12 For Action, Kilmartin says, “These days con artists have new ‘phish’ to fry.  Often using publicly available information about small businesses – including non-profits and government offices – they craft messages tailor-made to sound legit,” said Attorney General Kilmartin. “But, when a business recipient clicks on a link in what appears to be a familiar sender, fraudsters install malicious software that ransacks computer files in search of corporate account information.  Once the account is compromised, the crooks can issue counterfeit checks, wire money to partners in crime, and drain a company’s assets.”

The good news, businesses can protect themselves by following some simple steps: 

1)  Educate your employees. The oldie-but-goody advice still applies:  Don’t respond to messages at the office that ask for sensitive information.  And don’t open attachments or click on links in unsolicited email.

 2)  Enhance the security of your computer and networks.  Limit the number of computers that are used for online banking and payments. A workstation authorized for that purpose shouldn’t be used for general web browsing or emailing.  Install routers and firewalls to prevent unauthorized access.  Keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware software up to date.  Talk to your IT staff to make sure your default settings give you as much security as possible.

 3)  Enhance the security of your corporate banking practices. Talk to your financial institution about services that can help protect your company from altered or counterfeit checks or unauthorized ACH transactions.

 4)  Set up systems to detect fraud at the earliest stage. Monitor and reconcile your accounts at least once a day.  Talk to your financial institution about identifying activity that looks out of the ordinary for your company.  Investigate sluggish networks, unexpected rebooting, a new homepage, unfamiliar toolbars, or unusual pop-ups.

 5)  Move fast if you detect suspicious activity. Disconnect the computer from your network, including wireless connections.  Contact your financial institution immediately to disable online access.  Review all recent transactions and electronic authorizations on the account.  Make sure no one’s added new payees, requested a change to your address or phone number, changed existing wire or ACH template profiles, changed PIN numbers or ordered new cards or checks.

For more than 19 years I’ve been helping you protect yourself against scams, id theft, job schemes, you name it!  During National Consumer Protection Week I will continue to help you fight back.  The first event of the week started at the Providence Post Office where (insert shameless plug here) Colonel Brendan Doherty, RI State Police thanked me personally for helping to educate consumers over the years.  I think we all realize that arming ourselves with information is the best defense against getting ripped off.

Your Information Destination

This year’s theme is “Your Information Destination.”  It’s intended to highlight consumer education resources available, including delivering trust.com.  The United States Postal Office of Consumer Affairs and the US Postal Inspection Service have launched this new website and according to their press release, the site  features free fraud education and prevention videos about counterfeit checks, cross-border fraud, internet fraud, foreign lottery scams, work-at-home scams, ID theft and telemarketing fraud.

Shred-a-Thons

This week the RI Attorney Generals office will be hosting shred-a-thons statewide.   You are invited to bring any of your personal documents to shred as a safe method of disposing of potentially sensitive information.

Shredding events are being held at:

Tuesday, March 8, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

City of Warwick Pilgrim Senior Center

27 Pilgrim Parkway

Warwick

 Wednesday, March 9, 10 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Woonsocket Public Library

303 Clinton Street

Woonsocket

 Thursday, March 10, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Middletown Police Station

123 Valley Road

Middletown

 Friday, March 11, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Stedman Government Center

4808 Tower Hill Road

Wakefield

 Saturday, March 12, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Office of the Attorney General

150 South Main Street

Providence

“Be your own boss!” “Make $4000 in one week”

  You’ve heard the promises, but unfortunately, according to the FTC many are empty promises that leave consumers in worse financial shape.  The FTC has now stepped up its enforcement against scammers who falsely promise guaranteed jobs to consumers who are struggling with unemployment or looking to increase their household income.

“Operation Empty Promises “

This  multi-agency law enforcement initiative  announced more than 90 enforcement actions, including 48 criminal actions.    During a press conference at the FTC in Washington, DC, the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection said, “The victims of these frauds are our neighbors-people who are trying to make an honest living. Under pressure to make ends meet, they risked their limited financial resources in response to the promise of a job, an income-a chance at a profitable home-based business.  But these turned out to be empty promises-and the people who counted on them ended up with high levels of frustration and even higher levels of debt.”

Ivy Capital Inc.

The FTC took action against several companies including, Ivy Capital Inc. and 29 co-defendants.  According to the FTC, the company ”allegedly took more than $40 million dollars from victims who paid thousands of dollars believing Ivy Capital would help them develop their own internet businesses and earn up to $10,000 per month.”   

How they Allegedly Did it

 According to the FTC’s complaint,  Ivy Capital’s telemarketers asked consumers how much credit they had on their credit cards and then talked them into using a substantial portion of their available credit to purchase a business coaching program.  But, according to the FTC, the promised products and services were worthless. 

National Sales Group

According to the FTC,  National Sales Group, and I life Marketing LLC, allegedly made false claims to consumers about employment opportunities.  According to the complaint, the company advertised nonexistent sales jobs with good pay and benefits on CareerBuilder.com and other online job boards, and their telemarketers falsely told consumers the company recruited for Fortune 1000 employers and had a unique ability to get them interviewed and hired. 

Without Consent

The FTC alleged that the defendants charged fees they said covered background checks and other services, and often overcharged, taking $97 from consumers who had agreed to pay $29 or $38.  They also charged some consumers recurrnig fees of $13.71 or more per month without their consent.  According to other documents filed in court, the operation has generated more than 17,000 complaints to law enforcement agencies and defrauded consumers of at least $8 million.

Business Recovery Services LLC

The FTC says Business Recovery Services LLC allegedly telemarketed products and services they falsely claimed would help consumers recover money they had lost to business opportunity and work-at-home operations, selling hundreds of variations of do-it-yourself  kits tailored to particular schemes and priced up to $499. 

Advanced Payments

The FTC alleged they violated the telemarketing sales rule by misrepresenting the nature and effectiveness of their services, and accepting advance payments from consumers for recovering money lost in previous telemarketing transactions without waiting 7 business days for the consumers to receiv the recovered money, as required by the rule.  According to documents filed in court, consumers lost an estimated total of $1.5 million in this scheme.

EEK!  Hoping to head off to somewhere warm?  Some Southwest Airlines   Rapid Rewards customers  reported they’ve been unable to make ticket reservations and worse, many of their points have been wiped out!  Southwest Airlines confirmed with Eyewitness News that they are having issues.  On its Facebook page, Southwest says the following:

“We are aware of the issues with southwest.com today. We have all hands on deck to resolve the issues as quickly as possible. As you may know, we are launching our All-New Rapid Rewards program today, and we appreciate your patience as we work to get the site back up to speed.”

Join me at 5:00 tonight on Eyewitness News for more information on what customers need to do in order to get back their lost points!

Sam’s Club to extend special considerations to members 

 The closing of Sam’s Club on Route 2 in Warwick left a lot of members furious!  Not only was this the only Sam’s Club in RI, but many members just renewed or signed on…so now what? 

Calls started flooding into the office of  Rep.  Patricia Serpa (D-Dist. 27, West Warwick, Warwick, Coventry)  According to the press release, Serpa’s office contacted the closet location in Seekonk to see if any special considerations could be extended to its members.

Rep. Serpa said the following considerations will be made for individuals who have paid their dues as of Feb. 1, 2011 and are enrolled in either individual or premium Sam’s Club memberships:

• An extended two-year membership will be offered at the Sam’s Club in Seekonk free-of-charge.
• For those members who would like to discontinue their memberships, they can cancel and request their dues back at the Seekonk location.
• Members who would like to discontinue their memberships and are unable to travel to the Seekonk location can call 1-888-SHOPSAM to receive their membership rebates via mail.

Sam’s Club in Seekonk is located on 1098 Fall River Avenue, also known as Rt. 6.

It’s payback time!  Ever loose money to a scam artist?  The FTC is announcing a major sweep of unscrupulous companies that prey on the unemployed or stay-at-home moms.  It’s those get rich schemes I’ve reported on numerous times, well now it appears some of these sheisters are getting caught!  Follow me on twitter  @susiemakescents for the latest on this sweep and the announcement tomorrow from Washington, DC.

As reported on the The Federal Trade Commission’s website: The FTC  will host a press conference in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, March 2, 2011, at 11 a.m. EST to announce a major federal-state law enforcement crackdown on swindlers whose bogus employment schemes cheat financially distressed Americans.

So many of you have been asking me questions about the Verizon iPhone, so here you go…hopefully your questions can be answered here!

When will the Verizon iPhone 4 be available?  If you are a Verizon customer you get first crack at it.  You can pre-order it starting Feb. 3rd, the rest of you can get it Feb. 10th.

What is the difference between the Verizon iPhone and At and t’s?   The major difference is the CDMA chips inside the Verizon iPhone that will allow it to run on the Verizon network.  It’s software is more advanced too: running iOS 4.2.5, while most current release for all other iPhones is iOS 4.2.1. One other big feature Verizon will offer that AT and T does not, it’s the ability to use the iPhone as a WiFi hot spot.  Verizon tells me up to 5 WiFi devices can connect to the iPhone’s Internet connection at the same time! 

How much will the Verizon iPhone Cost?  $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, both include a two year contract!

Will your AT and T iPhone work on Verizon’s network?  No. Unfortunately, the two are on separate frequencies so if you are an AT and T customer and want to make the switch, you have to buy the Verizon iPhone and go on Verizon’s network.

The iPhone is finally coming to Verizon Wireless. 

The largest U.S. wireless carrier made the long-awaited announcement at an event Tuesday in New York City.  The phone will make its way to Verizon Wireless stores around the end February.

Verizon Wireless & Apple Team Up to Deliver iPhone 4 on Verizon

 Verizon Wireless and Apple® today announced that the iPhone® 4 will be available on the Verizon Wireless network beginning on Thursday, February 10. Qualified Verizon Wireless customers will be given the exclusive opportunity to pre-order iPhone 4 online on February 3, ahead of general availability.

iPhone 4 is the most innovative phone in the world, featuring Apple’s stunning Retina™ display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone resulting in super crisp text, images and video, and FaceTime®, which makes video calling a reality. iPhone 4 on Verizon Wireless will also include new Personal Hotspot capabilities allowing customers to use iPhone 4 to connect up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices.

“We are pleased to introduce millions of wireless users to the industry leading iPhone 4 on the nation’s most reliable network,” said Lowell McAdam, president and chief operating officer of Verizon. “This is an important step for the industry as two great companies join forces to give wireless customers one of the most important technological additions to the mobile landscape this century.”

“Verizon Wireless customers have told us they can’t wait to get their hands on iPhone 4, and we think they are going to love it,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s chief operating officer. “We have enormous respect for the company Verizon has built and the loyalty they have earned from their customers.”

iPhone 4 features a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, HD video recording, Apple’s A4 chip, a 3-axis gyro and a beautiful glass and stainless steel design like no other mobile phone. iPhone 4 also comes with iOS 4, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, which includes multitasking, folders, Game Center, AirPlay® and AirPrint wireless printing.  iPhone 4 customers have access to the world’s most popular App Store℠ with more than 300,000 apps available in an incredible range of 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health and reference.

Pricing & Availability

iPhone 4 will be available on the Verizon Wireless network beginning Thursday, February 10 for a suggested retail price of $199.99 for the 16GB model and $299.99 for the 32GB model with a new two year customer agreement. iPhone 4 will be available at more than 2,000 Verizon Wireless Communications Stores nationwide, online at  www.verizonwireless.com/iphone, at Apple Retail Stores, at the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), at Apple Authorized Resellers, and by calling 1-800-2 JOIN IN.