It is rare that I ever say this about a non-fiction book, but I couldn’t put this book down. Cyber Smart: Five Habits to Protect Your Family, Money, and Identity from Cyber Criminals by Bart R. McDonough is the most thorough guide on protecting yourself from cyber criminals.
It is a captivating book with numerous true anecdotes about the victims of cyber crime, which are included with every chapter and the most interesting parts of the book.
For example, there is the story of the woman who met a man on an online dating site and “loaned” him $72,000. When she tried to meet the man in person, he never showed up.
Another victim was a woman who received a phone call from her local hospital saying that her baby would have to be taken from her and turned over to child protective services because they detected meth in the baby. The woman said that, first, she didn’t have a baby, and second, she never used drugs in her life. Apparently, someone stole this woman’s medical ID so that the bad woman’s birth of her baby would be covered by the innocent woman’s insurance.
For some of the victims, you wonder how they could fall for a scam but others you feel sorry for, especially the grandparent scam victims.
If you think you know all the email scams, like email phishing, do you know what spear phishing is? How about whaling, clone phishing, SMS phishing, or pretexting?
At the end of every chapter, the author provides advice on how to protect yourself from the particular digital threat, whether you have a Windows or Mac computer, whether you have an Android or an iPhone, whether you use T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, or AT&T, and so on.
With the ubiquitous hacks, scams, privacy compromises, and identity thefts taking place, everyone should read Cyber Smart. I highly recommend it.