UGN Phishing & Online Crime Reports UGN Phishing & Online Crime Reports
criminals want your identity... they'll stop at nothing to get it. BEWARE
The following are the latest developments in the computer industry's war on Phishing -- which has now become one of the most dangerous threats against computer users.
Show the world you don't like online criminals with our anti-phishing buttons and stickers!
Jo Anne Barnhart, Commissioner of Social Security, and Patrick O'Carroll, Jr., Inspector General of Social Security, issued a warning today about a new email scam that has surfaced recently. The Agency has received several reports of an email message being circulated with the subject "Cost-of-Living for 2007 update" and purporting to be from the Social Security Administration. A Public Fraud Reporting form is also available online at OIG's website www.socialsecurity.gov/oig The Social Security Administration (SSA)
Bottom line: Whether it's Cyber Monday or any other day of the year, only go to sites that you know and trust. If you're in doubt look for reviews on the site or a phone number that you can call. CBS News - New York City,NY,USA
Microsoft is helping law enforcers hunt down criminals who try to steal bank account details on the Internet and has initiated 129 lawsuits in Europe and the Middle East, the U.S.
One court case in Turkey has already led to a 2.5-year prison sentence for a so-called "phisher" in Turkey, and another four cases against teenagers have been settled out of court, Microsoft said on Wednesday, eight months after it announced the launch of a Global Phishing Enforcement Initiative in March.
Of the 129 lawsuits that have been initiated, 97 are criminal procedures in which Microsoft and other technology companies have provided information.
Phishing has mushroomed over the last few years, with the number of attempts to trick citizens into handing over their bank account details almost doubling in the first half of 2006 to 157,000 -- with total amount of damages from phishing is expected to be $2.8 billion in 2006 alone. today.reuters.co.uk
... author. Microsoft has initiated 129 lawsuits against phishing fraudsters in EMEA as part of a wider campaign against online fraud. Also see: Microsoft hooks and reels in phishers Register - London, England, UK
... As online shoppers gear up for a season of intensive spending in the run up to Christmas, online fraudsters are also preparing for their busiest time of the year. VNUNet.com - UK
Criminals could get ten years inside under new laws to prevent phishing "kits". The Fraud Act 2006 received Royal Assent last week and will close a number of loopholes in a number of preceding laws. One of these loopholes will ban the use of phishing kits. Phishing kits are used to create and send out bogus emails by the millions. Until now, possession of such kits has been difficult to prosecute against. IT PRO - London, Greater London, UK
This article provides links to a number of sane practices on dealing with online crime. Many Mac users need to go to Apple's Web site and download an update for their systems. Find out more in the Mac Firmware Update section. Also see their in the Anti-Phish Phight section. PC Magazine - USA
Retailers and charities aren't the only ones expecting to benefit from the upcoming holiday shopping season. With the average shopper expected to spend nearly $800 this year on holiday merchandise, according to the National Retail Federation, thieves are also looking to cash in on the season. Besides stealing money and objects, identity theft is gaining popularity among criminals. Harris wants to help consumers avoid identity theft and reminds them to be aware of the three Ps of identity theft: People, Paper and Phishing. Earthtimes.org - USA
Why does phishing work? Because ... users. That way, you'll be able to spot dumb phishing without the need for a single security product. Here's a defence against phishing that should work for a while at least -- sign up for a small bank with a slightly eccentric and local view on how to communicate with its users. That way, you'll be able to spot dumb phishing without the need for a single security product. Techworld.com - London, UK
Heise Security reports on a phishing vulnerability caused by Firefox's password manager. In a nutshell, because Firefox has the ability to store field entries so it can automatically insert usernames and passwords for previously visited Web sites, maliciously crafted sites can coax the information out and trick the user into submitting (or automatically submit) the private data. The phishing mechanism, as demonstrated, also affects Safari and the Mac OS X Keychain. See this demonstration of the flaw
For Firefox, this situation can be prevented by simply going to the "Security" pane of the application's preferences and deselecting the "Remember passwords for sites."
For Safari, it can be prevented by going to the "AutoFill" pane in the application's preferences and deselecting "User names and passwords." MacFixIt (subscription) - Portland, OR, USA
A website that purports to help underprivileged children is actually a scam to dupe users into laundering money, a security company has warned. VNUNet.com - UK
... author. Microsoft has initiated 129 lawsuits against phishing fraudsters in EMEA as part of a wider campaign against online fraud. Also see: Microsoft hooks and reels in phishers Register - London, England, UK
Starting early next year, the address bar in Internet Explorer 7 will turn green when surfing to a legitimate website -- but only in some cases, not all. The colored address bar is designed to be a sign that a specific site can be trusted, giving people the green light to carry out transactions there. It is a weapon in the fight against phishing scams, which use fraudulent websites. USA Today - USA
According to new survey from Gartner Research, the number of US adults that are certain -- or as least believe -- that they have received phishing e-mails has nearly doubled in the past two years. eMarketer - New York, NY, USA
By Tim Ferguson. Spam, phishing and denial of service could all soon be threatening VoIP services, and businesses need to take steps now to ward off the danger. Silicon.com - UK
Spam, phishing and denial of service could all soon be threatening VoIP services, and businesses need to take steps now to ward off the danger. ZDNet.com.au - Australia
VoIP is to become increasingly complicated as analysts predict the new wave of internet spam and phishing schemes will soon be targeted at the burgeoning voice One Stop Click - London, UK
VoIP systems are highly susceptible to outside attacks, according to the SANS Institutes's 2006 list of Top-20 Internet Security Attack Targets . The list, released this week, is an annual breakdown of the the Internet's most attacked targets, and covers everything from operating systems and network devices to security policies. VoIP News - San Francisco, CA, USA
"58 percent of business PC users receive at least one phishing email each day, while, alarmingly, 22 percent receive more than five a day, according to a recent web poll conducted by Sophos," said Ron O'Brien, Sophos's senior security analyst. "Those numbers, combined with today's more strategically targeted attacks, leave little room for error. If financial institutions have proper network security in place and are consistent in their messaging, customers will not have to guess whether they are dealing with a phishing attack." Kansas City infoZine - Kansas City, MO, USA
... that an e-mail sent by Citibank confused both customers and security experts because neither group could distinguish the genuine e-mail from a phishing attack. ZDNet.com.au - Australia
... As criminals step up their attacks electronically, a survey by Apacs last month found that computer users were still complacent when it came to online security. Less than half of those surveyed updated their antivirus software regularly and 4 per cent, an estimated half a million people, admitted that they would respond to a phishing-style e-mail requesting their banking details. Times Online - UK
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