An Indiana television news outlet says it’s “uncovered a silent scam that’s allowing criminals in central Indiana to access your data without you ever knowing they were there.”

The problem with this news report is that the scam is neither new nor strictly affecting citizens of Indiana.

As we’ve reported for two years, WiFi hotspots allow cyber criminals to steal your personal information and even your identity. This is happening in airports and airplanes, in coffee shops, hotel rooms, hotel lobbies, hospitals, and anywhere else offering a free wireless network. The only way to prevent these privacy invasions is to use a personal VPN like Private WiFi to encrypt all your data from nosy onlookers and cyber crooks.

The report includes a quote from Sterlyn Group’s Director of Technical Services Lige Hensley, who is called “a new breed of cyber sleuth who’s seen the rapid rise of digital theft up close.”

Hensley told News 8′s Troy Kehoe there were “certain hospitals in Indianapolis where — if you pulled up outside with this one tool I have — you could see everything going on inside that ER. I’m seeing diagnoses, Social Security numbers, everything. That’s been fixed. But there is a lot out there that’s still not secured.”

Is public WiFi really safe?: wishtv.com