Identity Theft

From the start Gmail supported https connections which insures a secure, encrypted connection to Gmail’s server so that someone with access to the network you’re using couldn’t eavesdrop on your connection and capture the mail you’re reading. However, Google doesn’t force all users to use the https and allows people to stay connected to Gmail […]

With the economy the way it is, more and more people are falling behind and getting harassed by debt collectors but there are things you can do to make them stop.
CNN reports the first thing you should do when contacted by a debt collector is demand proof of the debt.
If a debt collector contacts […]

No matter how much or little you earn you’re at risk of having your identity stolen. More and more often these days identity thieves are finding victims by going through trash and dumpster diving to find bank statements, credit card offers, and other documents with personal information.
To discourage the most determined identity thief […]

Sam Glover on Caveat Emptor is reporting that nearly everyone that had a credit card, loan or credit account, or an open line of credit at any point from January 1, 1987 to May 28, 2008 you maybe entitled to a settlement from a class action law suit against TransUnion Corporation.
The settlement offer has several […]

Here’s one for you nuts out there that believe Anti-Virus makers spread viruses to keep themselves in business…
InfoWorld is reporting that Anti-Virus vendor Trend Micro’s web site was hacked and used to infect visitors of the web site with viruses and malware.
The infected Web pages are not obviously malicious, but the attackers have added a […]

Nnamdi Chizuba Anisiobi, Anthony Friday Ehis and Kesandu Egwuonwu have pleaded guilty to federal charges of running an advance-fee scam reports The Register.
Using names such as Yellowman, Abdul Rahman, Michael Anderson, Edmund Walter, Nancy White, Jiggaman and Namo, the men sent spam emails to thousands of potential victims, in which they falsely claimed to […]

Brian Krebs at the Washington Post is reporting that the web site for the Lawrence Livermore National Labs has been inadvertently hosting malicious content and spam.
The Lawrence Livermore National Labs are responsible for the safety and integrity of the US nuclear arsenal but if the allegations are true they seem to not even be […]

Consumerist is warning everyone should check their credit card statements for a charge from, “STC SAWA RECHARGE RIYADH SA”.
The Saudi Arabian phone card company is fraudulently passing charges to consumer’s cards, usually for sums of $80. If you find one of these unwanted charges, contact your card company to dispute the charges. This may not […]

While privacy advocates applaud private domain name registration services, which hide personal information and even the name of the domain name’s owner, some are questioning if it aides criminals and even terrorists.
The Canadian The Globe and Mail implies that these private domain name registration services impede law enforcement and provide shelter to terrorists as it’s […]

US-CERT is warning that a recent surge of phishing email messages are claiming to be from the United States National Medical Association.
The emails contain a link to a malicious web site and if visited can install malicious software and/or collect personal information to be used to perform identity theft. These email messages were not sent […]

Techdirt reported that McAfee’s CEO has been pushing for new laws to deal with cybercrime.
He says cybercrime is now a bigger business than illegal drug trafficking in the US, and that the punishment doled out to cybercriminals isn’t an effective deterrent. He may have a valid point there, but new laws and sentencing guidelines don’t […]

The Sinowal.FY and Gpcode.ai Trojan viruses are spreading pretty rapidly and have a new sinister twist to them.
Once a user is tricked in to opening either of their payload files, the Trojans encrypt all or most of the user’s files and data and then demands a $300 ransom in exchange for the decryption instructions.
The ransom […]

The hottest trend now for attackers that use password stealers and key-loggers is to capture and sell logins for to Massive Multi-Player Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG) and others social networking communities in addition to banking sites.
Crooks not only win money by collecting, selling or using usernames and passwords from online banking and e-commerce. There […]

The FBI has been receiving reports of spam e-mail claiming to be from an official of the U.S. military. The official claims he is sending it on behalf of American soldiers that are overseas.
These scams vary; however, the general idea is to request personal information and/or funds from the individual receiving the e-mail.
Beware of […]

Seth Purdy shares his tale of a very complex eBay scam that’s sure to cause a lot of eBay sellers grief.
Here’s what happened:

Purdy was selling an item worth about $250 and someone fraudulently bidded on the item to drive up to $395.

eBay canceled the auction automatically because of the fraudulent bidding.

The next […]

The Internet Crime Complaint Center is warning that there has been an increase of fraudulent schemes and spam mail that misrepresents the FBI and its director, Robert S. Mueller III.
The fraudulent e-mails give the appearance of legitimacy due to the usage of pictures of the FBI Director, seal, letter head, and/or banners. The types […]

Symantec reports that an increasing number of phishing sites are being hosted on various government web sites.
This past June Symantec alleges that they found phishing sites on Thailand (.go.th), Indonesia (.go.id), Hungary (.gov.hu), Bangladesh (.gov.bd), Argentina (.gov.ar), Sri Lanka (.gov.lk), Ukraine (.gov.ua), China (.gov.cn), Brazil (.gov.br), Bosnia and Herzegovina (.gov.ba), Columbia (.gov.co), and Malaysia (.gov.my) […]

The General Accountability Office, the non-partisian audit and investigative arm of congress, has issued a report last week that examined 24 of the largest of 570+ data breaches that were reported in the media from January 2005 to December 2006. They only found 3 breaches that resulted in fraud.
For 18 of the breaches studied, no […]

Yahoo! IM is being used for a new phishing scam. Infected machines send a message to everyone on the contact list that contains a link to what appears to be a Yahoo! 360 login page.
Since the recipients think it’s from their friends they may be more likely to click on the link and fail […]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers to stop buying drugs online as it can put them at risk and it can also be more expensive than purchasing the drugs locally.
The FDA warns:
Consumers should be aware of safety concerns of drugs purchased from unregulated Internet sellers since some of these drugs might:

require […]