Avoid cash app scams
Cash App has become a popular money transfer app similar to Venmo and Zelle, reports Kurt “The CyberGuy” Knutsson.
Last Thursday, PayPal began notifying nearly 35,000 of its customers that their accounts had been compromised between December 6 and December 8. During the two days, PayPal claims no money was stolen from anyone.
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What happened with the PayPal attack?
The hackers were still able to obtain personal and private information, including full names, dates of birth, physical addresses, social security numbers, and tax identification numbers. PayPal stopped the intrusion within two days, reset passwords for affected users and said no unauthorized transactions had been attempted.
PayPal’s internal investigation revealed that the hackers used a method known as credit stuffing to breach these victims’ accounts.
(Kurt Knutson)
How did the hackers breach these accounts?
PayPal’s internal investigation revealed that the hackers used a method known as credit stuffing to breach these victims’ accounts. Credential stuffing is when hackers use existing credentials already floating around the dark web to hack into private accounts. They use bots with lists of usernames and passwords obtained from previous data breaches and try credentials across multiple online services in hopes that customers haven’t recently changed their passwords. This is where those using the same passwords for multiple different accounts can run into a big problem.
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To learn more about how to tell if your passwords have been hacked, visit CyberGuy.com and search “have your passwords been hacked” by clicking the magnifying glass at the top of my website.
What if my PayPal account has been hacked?
If you were one of the victims of this PayPal attack, PayPal should have already reset your password. If you’re going to create a new password, make sure it’s a strong password with upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols. The company also offers victims two years of free Equifax identity verification.
How to protect yourself from hackers in the future
While PayPal works hard to help the victims of this vicious attack, there are steps you can take to make sure something like this never happens to you.
- Create strong passwords and don’t use the same one for multiple accounts: more information about creating strong passwords and good password managers can be found here
- Use 2-factor authentication: take advantage of two-factor authentication for all the services you use that offer it. This is an extra step that will keep a hacker out of your private information, even if they get their hands on your credentials.
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Were you affected by the PayPal breach? We’d love to hear from you.
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