EllenJS
boosted
Chewie
boosted
Personal #InfoSec heads up. This is my story of #identity theft. I hope it helps you avoid the hellish experience. In early December 2025, I fell for a very well-executed #phishing #fraud scam.
They pretended to be from security at my bank. They knew much more about me than I would ever expect. That was key to convincing me to stay on line, When I say “they” I’m talking about several individuals who role played (excellently) security, managers, customer representatives. I stretched out the conversation because something seemed off. I had no evidence. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but at one point I detected a slight hesitation or nervousness in one of their voices. I told them I needed a personal moment and put them on hold.
I called a guy at the bank who helps me with my retirement funds, told him the story and asked for help verifying what was going on. Within two minutes he said it was a hoax and he had real bank security on the phone with us. They wanted me to play along while they were online, looking for various clues and hoping to catch the bad guys in the act. It worked. The bad guys were in the process of transferring out everything in my accounts. It would have been a crushing DISASTER if I did not have the bank’s real security hoaxing the hoaxers! I lost nothing but time and personal esteem. The aftermath has been more painful.
It has been months since my complete identity information was stolen. I had to change every bank and credit account number, kill several email addresses I had used for decades, change all passwords, inform #SSA, #Medicare, Ibsurance companies… the whole package. I’m not done. I consider myself lucky, so far. It will never be over. I realize that protecting my identity is a constant battle.
I think it started when my info (OGE Form 450) was stolen when the #US government general administration office was hacked in 2008 (?) and virtually all employees’ financial disclosures were stolen. They gave us lifetime monitoring service which has been pretty good. It spotted and reported to me multiple breakins and data thefts over the years, including when my info was for sale on the “dark web”. I want to emphasize that I responded EVERY TIME. Nevertheless, my info from various thefts was obviously collated over time and now there is a good solid model of me for sale, complete with private information I thought I never disclosed.
This can easily happen to anyone, including you.
Everything I learned about personal infosec over the years — **advice I followed** — proved to be insufficient. I’m now looking into hardware passkeys, but that is not enough. I welcome professional #infosec and others to comment here. It is a teachable moment for all of us.
Personal #InfoSec heads up. This is my story of #identity theft. I hope it helps you avoid the hellish experience. In early December 2025, I fell for a very well-executed #phishing #fraud scam.
They pretended to be from security at my bank. They knew much more about me than I would ever expect. That was key to convincing me to stay on line, When I say “they” I’m talking about several individuals who role played (excellently) security, managers, customer representatives. I stretched out the conversation because something seemed off. I had no evidence. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but at one point I detected a slight hesitation or nervousness in one of their voices. I told them I needed a personal moment and put them on hold.
I called a guy at the bank who helps me with my retirement funds, told him the story and asked for help verifying what was going on. Within two minutes he said it was a hoax and he had real bank security on the phone with us. They wanted me to play along while they were online, looking for various clues and hoping to catch the bad guys in the act. It worked. The bad guys were in the process of transferring out everything in my accounts. It would have been a crushing DISASTER if I did not have the bank’s real security hoaxing the hoaxers! I lost nothing but time and personal esteem. The aftermath has been more painful.
It has been months since my complete identity information was stolen. I had to change every bank and credit account number, kill several email addresses I had used for decades, change all passwords, inform #SSA, #Medicare, Ibsurance companies… the whole package. I’m not done. I consider myself lucky, so far. It will never be over. I realize that protecting my identity is a constant battle.
I think it started when my info (OGE Form 450) was stolen when the #US government general administration office was hacked in 2008 (?) and virtually all employees’ financial disclosures were stolen. They gave us lifetime monitoring service which has been pretty good. It spotted and reported to me multiple breakins and data thefts over the years, including when my info was for sale on the “dark web”. I want to emphasize that I responded EVERY TIME. Nevertheless, my info from various thefts was obviously collated over time and now there is a good solid model of me for sale, complete with private information I thought I never disclosed.
This can easily happen to anyone, including you.
Everything I learned about personal infosec over the years — **advice I followed** — proved to be insufficient. I’m now looking into hardware passkeys, but that is not enough. I welcome professional #infosec and others to comment here. It is a teachable moment for all of us.
Maïtané 👣
boosted
📣 Conférence gesticulée "Qu'est-ce qu'on mange ce soir ?" à (re)voir en Pays de #Redon #SSA #securitesocialealimentation #spectacle #collectif #loireatlantique #bretagne
📅 Vendredi 14 novembre à 20H à #connexionpaysanne #saintnicolasderedon
📅 Jeudi 27 novembre à 17h30 à la Bicoque #Redon
Prix libre - Durée 1h 45 - Accès PMR
Résumé : à travers nos trois parcours de vie où s’entremêlent #paysannerie, sport, #théâtre et #militantisme, nous parcourons la filière de l’ #alimentation
📣 Conférence gesticulée "Qu'est-ce qu'on mange ce soir ?" à (re)voir en Pays de #Redon #SSA #securitesocialealimentation #spectacle #collectif #loireatlantique #bretagne
📅 Vendredi 14 novembre à 20H à #connexionpaysanne #saintnicolasderedon
📅 Jeudi 27 novembre à 17h30 à la Bicoque #Redon
Prix libre - Durée 1h 45 - Accès PMR
Résumé : à travers nos trois parcours de vie où s’entremêlent #paysannerie, sport, #théâtre et #militantisme, nous parcourons la filière de l’ #alimentation
Grégory Gutierez 🌻🎸🐧
boosted
#Paris5 / Sécurité sociale de l'alimentation • La SSA garantit un droit universel à une alimentation saine, locale et bio, financée par cotisation. Elle combine justice sociale, écologie et démocratie alimentaire, soutient les producteurs en agroécologie et réduit les inégalités, tout en favorisant la souveraineté alimentaire • Rencontres & échanges riches ce dimanche matin au marché #Monge lors de notre🌻 opération sur la #SSA 🙂 🥣
#Paris5 / Sécurité sociale de l'alimentation • La SSA garantit un droit universel à une alimentation saine, locale et bio, financée par cotisation. Elle combine justice sociale, écologie et démocratie alimentaire, soutient les producteurs en agroécologie et réduit les inégalités, tout en favorisant la souveraineté alimentaire • Rencontres & échanges riches ce dimanche matin au marché #Monge lors de notre🌻 opération sur la #SSA 🙂 🥣
Tim Chambers
boosted
#Disinformation: #SocialSecurity email praising Trump’s tax bill is a lie
The #SSA sent an email claiming Trump’s bill eliminated taxes on benefits for most recipients.
The reconciliation bill–which #Trump called the #OneBigBeautifulBill before signing it after #Republicans in #Congress passed it–will strip people of their #HealthInsurance, cut #FoodAssistance for the #poor, kill off #CleanEnergy development & raise the #NationalDebt by trillions.
#propaganda
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/05/social-security-administration-email-trump-tax-bill
#Disinformation: #SocialSecurity email praising Trump’s tax bill is a lie
The #SSA sent an email claiming Trump’s bill eliminated taxes on benefits for most recipients.
The reconciliation bill–which #Trump called the #OneBigBeautifulBill before signing it after #Republicans in #Congress passed it–will strip people of their #HealthInsurance, cut #FoodAssistance for the #poor, kill off #CleanEnergy development & raise the #NationalDebt by trillions.
#propaganda
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/05/social-security-administration-email-trump-tax-bill
Ooo, I have email from Frank Bisignano, Social Security Administrator. Oh, it's bullshit propaganda. Let's see what Wikipedia has to say about Bisignano, hmm there's a quote:
'[A]fter being tapped by the Trump administration to lead the agency, I don’t think the commissioner of Social Security is like a globally known title. It is to you, right? But, like, it wasn't to me. I’m like, "Well, what am I gonna do?". So I’m Googling "Social Security". That’s one of my great skills, I'm one of the great Googlers on the East Coast.... I’m like, "What the heck's the commissioner of Social Security?" '
Yeah, that tracks. Grifter who is absolutely out of his depth but gave big $$$ to Trump.
Anyone else get this bullshit #propaganda #email from #US social security:
Social Security Applauds Passage of Legislation Providing Historic Tax Relief for Seniors
I've NEVER gotten anything from #ssa except yearly statements. And NOW we're getting #partisan #junk #mail #spam from a #government agency. My #tax #dollars wasted so they can push this crap and suck up to #Trump