Internet fraud
Internet fraud news stories
Missouri mom accused of bullying neighborhood teen with fake persona
Wired Nov 25, 08 1:34 PM CST
(Newser) -
Lori Drew’s fate is in the hands of a California jury as the case of the “MySpace bully” goes into deliberations, Wired reports. After forceful closing arguments yesterday, the jury will decide whether the mother committed computer fraud by creating a false online identity used to bully a neighborhood teen into suicide in 2006.
More »
Cybercriminal accused of hijacking user profiles to send out millions of messages
San Francisco Chronicle Nov 25, 08 7:09 AM CST
(Newser) -
Facebook has won an $873 million judgment against a man accused of hijacking user profiles to spew spam, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The award—the biggest ever under federal spamming laws—was made against a Canadian citizen who Facebook accused of stealing login details to send more than 4 million messages; the spam advertised products like marijuana and male enhancement pills and appeared to be endorsed by the user.
More »
Con artists try to fool Facebook users by posing as friends in need
Ars Technica Nov 12, 08 6:53 AM CST
(Newser) -
Nigeria's notorious cybercriminals are looking for some buddies, Ars Technica reports. The conmen have infiltrated social networking sites like Facebook by filching passwords and contacting users in the guise of a friend who suddenly, urgently needs funds. Internet security experts fear the new tactic could prove a lot more effective that the standard scamming emails, as it hijacks the identity of someone the target knows.
More »
OPINION
'Common knowledge isn't the same as universal knowledge,' Pogue writes
New York Times Oct 2, 08 6:55 PM CDT
(Newser) -
What people don’t know about basic computer tricks is pretty shocking, David Pogue found while gathering info for his New York Times column. After a call for tips from readers, all involved “soon discovered that what’s common knowledge isn’t the same as universal knowledge.” Here follow some of the choicest secrets, which Pogue urges us to “pass along to ... well, you know who they are.”
More »
Those domains most likely to house ill intent, security study finds
Associated Press Jun 4, 08 3:57 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A study by antivirus software firm McAfee warns Web surfers to be cautious of sites on certain domains, the AP reports, with corner-cutting registration companies often skipping security precautions. The domains .hk, .cn and .info were found to be riskiest.
More »
Used IRCBots to profit off of online advertising contracts
ComputerWorld Feb 15, 08 1:28 PM CST
(Newser) -
A teenager referred to by the FBI as BDH and known online as “Sobe” pleaded guilty to two counts of juvenile fraud conspiracy for a scheme that used botnets to install adware on hundreds of thousands of American computers, including some military systems. He will be sentenced May 5, and will receive between 1 year and 18 months in prison under a plea bargain, Computerworld reports.
More »
Michigan man,
10 others face dozens of charges in stock fraud scheme
Reuters Jan 4, 08 1:50 PM CST
(Newser) -
A federal grand jury has indicted a Michigan man and 10 others for spamming and stock fraud, Reuters reports. Alan Ralsky and his associates face 41 counts related to using spam to promote little-traded Chinese stocks, artificially driving up prices, and then making a killing by selling the stock. Ralsky is one of the US’s most prolific spammers, prosecutors said.
More »
Inside the war against online auction fraud
Los Angeles Times Dec 26, 07 4:03 AM CST
(Newser) -
Internet giant eBay is battling online auction fraud—and the center of the struggle is a Romanian town in the Carpathian mountains. A top eBay investigator, who has US Secret Service protection, forages police files in the region to combat scams. Internet auction fraud is the specialty of Romanian crime gangs, which are part of a hive of organized web crime in Eastern Europe, the Los Angeles Times reports.
More »