scams

Email hoaxes that grab millions

Judi Hasson — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 14:35:55 -0400

It's hard to believe, but those far-fetched email scams telling you that you have won the lottery or offering investment opportunities that sound too good to be true still seem to attract plenty of takers, and sometimes their money. The spammers send out millions of solicitations without cost, and if only a very small percentage respond and fall prey, it can be money in the bank, or in some cases just a good laugh.

Computerworld has compiled a list of some of the top email hoaxes that have come through in-boxes and fooled millions. They include pitches to raise bonsai kittens in bottles, and a claim that Bill Gates wants to give you money. One version of the Bill Gates scam, all to get money from Microsoft, is to forward an email to your friends. Microsoft will track the email for two weeks, and you get paid for every person who receives the email through you.

Then there are never-ending missives from an earnest resident of Nigeria that start with a hello and an introduction, suggesting that your help is needed to claim an abandoned sum of money in a foreign account. The message typically promises that you will receive a large amount of money if you simply send a smaller amount of money now.

To learn about these scams:
- see this Computerworld.com article

Security firm needs help cracking malware

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 06:59:59 -0400

Computerworld reports that a Russian security firm is having difficulty dealing with "ransomware'' attacks where hackers have planted malware that encrypts files and then displays a message demanding money to unlock the data.

Kaspersky Lab, a Moscow antivirus firm, recently asked for assistance from cryptographers, governmental and scientific institutions, antivirus companies and independent researchers to break a new variant of Gpcode that encrypted 143 different file types. As it deals with the threat, Kaspersky has told users that backing up data is the best way, at the moment, to sidestep such scams.

For more on ransomware:
- check out this Computerworld.com article

Identity theft dropped in 2007

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:59:59 -0500

Identity theft actually dropped in 2007, by at least 300,000 cases, according to a new report by Javelin Strategy and Research. That's quite a surprise for all of us who have been reading the stories of doom and gloom in IT. Javelin's 2008 Identity Fraud Survey Report said the drop in identity theft represents a reduction of $6 billion in the amount of money stolen through such scams.

The survey actually reinforces similar findings from previous years, as the number of people affected by identity fraud has dropped significantly since Javelin began conducting the research in 2004. Just take a look at Javelin's research numbers. Roughly 4.25 percent of the adult population in the U.S. was hit by identity theft during 2004. In 2007, only 3.58 percent of adults were targeted by attacks. Javelin cited more public awareness of the problem and extra precautions taken by businesses with sensitive data as reasons for the declining numbers. Nevertheless, the criminal mind is hard at work figuring out new ways to steal data, the report said.

Another bit of bad news from the report is that those individuals who are being victimized by the schemes are getting fleeced out of more of their funds. The cost per consumer in 2007 averaged $691, an increase of 25 percent, over $554 reported in the 2006 report. "The 2008 Report confirmed what we believe to be true: that while fraud is declining, it is still a concern for the American public," James Van Dyke, president and founder of Javelin, said in a report summary. "The good news is the leadership role many businesses are taking in educating consumers about ID fraud risk factors is paying off. Still, fraudsters are getting creative and leveraging new techniques to commit fraud, so Americans need to be as diligent as ever in protecting their personal information." The moral of this story is simple: stay alert and keep working to protect your data.

For more ID theft:
- See this InfoWorld article

SPOTLIGHT: A Ho-Ho-Ho from the hacker world

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 19:01:34 -0500

The holiday season is busy for everyone, including those intent on online identity theft and spyware distribution. According to security researchers, it's a prime time for hackers and online criminals that like to use holiday-related scams to snatch confidential data. The big threats this year are coming from spyware makers in China and Russia. Article

Latest spam trick drives ahead with BMW lure

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 19:01:37 -0500

The latest spam threat uses the allure of winning a new BMW to trick online users into contacting a fake "content claim" department. Once they do so the scammers grab data that allows them to break into banking and other confidential systems. Security experts say the new spam strategy is reminiscent of the Nigerian scam that tries to lure people into believing they've come into a lot of money and all they have to do is providing online banking data. The only way to stop such a risk, say experts, is to make sure users know enough not to fall for such scams.

Fore more on the latest spam lure:
- read the news at Vnunet

Phishers eye more than top brands these days

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 20:01:37 -0400

Phishers clearly have their sights set on taking down major brands. A new report from the Anti-Phishing Working Group reports that the number of brands attacked by phishing jumped 20 percent just from this past June. One reason for this increase is that phishers aren't just going after the big guys anymore--though the top 80 percent of scams did focus on just 15 brands. The list of brands under fire by the remaining scamming efforts is broad and is leading experts to tag the trend as a "long-tail impact."

To learn more about phishing trends:
- read this article at News.com

PLUS: A new way to combat phishing. Article

Phishers more organized and dangerous

Sun, 16 Jul 2006 20:01:38 -0400

Everyone's pretty aware of how sophisticated phishers are getting these days, and now it's obvious they're also getting pretty business savvy, as they're developing scams specific to industries such as banking. According to one research firm, online criminals are discovering ways to get around the two-way authentication systems many banks have put in place by focusing on the token systems used to provide temporary passwords to online customers. The scam lures users into giving up the password information so phishers can then gain account and data access. As one security expert notes, the latest phishing scam shows criminals are getting much more organized in their attack strategies.

For more on the latest phishing scam:
- see this article at InfoWorld

ALSO NOTED: Making ITIL work well; Security threats to know; and much more...

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 20:01:33 -0400

> Tech leaders share insight on making ITIL work well. Article

> Security threats you might not be aware of. Article

> Sun new servers mark start of vendor's "turnaround." Article

> Online job seekers warned about new scams. Article

And Finally... How shrimp is fostering a new bandage industry. Article