Phishing
Phishing is a fancy name for an old game. Somebody poses as a trusted entity and attempts to get sensitive information out of you -- your usernames, passwords, credit card details, and more. For some reason, when it happens on the Internet, it merits a new name, and that name is phishing.
A lot of these attempts are clumsy and obvious while others are more elaborate. Someone may pose as your bank, and ask you to confirm your password. They'll usually try to bypass your ability to think rationally by telling you that there's some urgent problem that needs to be resolved by giving them your password right away. Other phishing attempts include fake commerce sites, like the rash of fake websites that are stealing credit card info by pretending to sell tickets to the Rio Olympics.
And maybe you aren't foolish enough to click on those emails or those fake sites -- but again, you don't have to be. All it takes is for someone at the bank to be that foolish. An embarrassingly basic phishing scheme directed at 100 different banks around the world wound up siphoning billions of dollars - and that's with an attack that actually required the bank employees to be stupid enough to open a suspicious file.
Did you know...
- When it comes to counterfeiters, North Korea are pros. They have gotten so good at counterfeiting American currency (particularly the $50 and $100 bills) they their fakes are known as "superdollars." They require specialized Federal Reserve equipment to be identified. There are $45 million worth of North Korean fakes…that we know of.
- Paper money is actually pretty heavy. One pound would be worth $454 in $1 bills. That means $1 million comprised solely of $100 bills would weigh over 20 pounds. Those suitcases filled with money in movies must be hefty to lug around all that paper money. If you plan on robbing a bank, you better bulk up!
- Have you ever wondered who prints the most money? That would be Hasbro, as in the makers of Monopoly. Hasbro prints more Monopoly money in a given year than there is money in the entire world. Each set of the game comes with $20,580. Bet you didn’t know you had that much money lying around the house!
- Do you know what the lifespan of U.S. currency is? The higher the denomination, the longer it stays in circulation. Both $50 and $100 bills last 9 years. The $20 sticks around for 4 years. $10 bills circulate for 3 years. The $5 bill has a 2-year lifespan, and the $1 bill only lasts around 18 months before being retired. Coins last around 30 years.
- Once you've handled all your money, you should probably wash your hands. Money is some of the dirtiest things that we own. In fact, it's been found to be dirtier than a household toilet! During flu season, the virus can live on a bill for up to 17 days. That's just plain disgusting!