McAfee Inc. (NYSE:MFE) today announced findings from the first global study on the security of information economies. In the study, Unsecured Economies: Protecting Vital Information, security experts and senior IT decision makers warned that the global recession is putting vital information at greater risk than ever before. The results were reviewed by McAfee’s Cybersecurity Experts Council, announced separately today.

When times are tough, scam artists know just how to exploit a desperate situation. That's especially true when it comes to the housing industry, which has been decimated by a record number of foreclosures and defaults in the past year. One of the rip-offs that has emerged in this mess: fraudulent loan modification companies.

Scammers love to use current events to dupe consumers, and today's ongoing financial turmoil offers the perfect opportunity for one of the most popular forms of fraud -- phishing. A phishing scam typically uses a phony e-mail to collect your personal or financial information under false pretenses. Its recent growth prompted the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, to issue a warning in October that electronic thieves may be using Wall Street's woes for their Internet trickery.

Bernard Madoff pulled a shocker last week by revealing that his exclusive investment securities firm was actually the biggest Ponzi scheme in the history of mankind. As the impact of Madoff’s decades-long crime reverberates around the world, it invokes memories of past Ponzi masters, who laid the groundwork for planet-sized schemes like Madoff’s.

In one of the biggest heists in American history, the Daily News "stole" the $2 billion Empire State Building. And it wasn't that hard. The News swiped the 102-story Art Deco skyscraper by drawing up a batch of bogus documents, making a fake notary stamp and filing paperwork with the city to transfer the deed to the property. Some of the information was laughable: Original "King Kong" star Fay Wray is listed as a witness and the notary shared a name with bank robber Willie Sutton.

With times tight, everyone is looking for ways to save money. One way to do that is by making sure you get the most bang out of every hard-earned buck you spend. Ken & Daria Dolan, popular personal finance experts, reveal 10 retail rip-offs that give you less than your money's worth. Their tips aren't about scrimping or cutting out life's little luxuries ... instead, they show you some places where you are paying big price markups and may not realize it.

With so many people facing foreclosure these days, it's a good idea to educate yourself about the types of scams that take advantage of folks who are having trouble paying their bills. Even if you are doing ok, perhaps you can help someone else by recognizing a scam. The FTC lists the top 3 foreclosure scams to be aware of as the housing crisis deepens.

Have you checked your home equity line of credit lately? If not, you probably should. Even if you've never used a home equity line of credit, or HELOC, it's a good idea to check your three credit reports (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) to make sure identity thieves haven't opened one in your name. According to the FBI, canny con artists are increasingly draining the equity of unsuspecting homeowners by tapping into their home equity lines of credit.

Why did this woman, a reverend and a nurse, give over $400,000 to Nigerian email scammers? It started with just $100. The emails told her a long-lost relative with the same last name had $20.5 million caught up in the banks of Nigeria. Janella Spears just had to help with a few processing fees...