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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: online fraud

online fraud stories: 15 news summaries

 Swindlers Are 
 Trying to Tweet You 

Scamsters use site to get rich from phony cash-for-tweets schemes

Jul 7, 09 8:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - The world's lowlifes are taking full advantage of Twitter's high profile, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Better Business Bureau warns that there has been a surge in scamsters luring people into phony work-from-home schemes. They urge users to be extremely wary of any "cash-for-tweets" scheme offering easy... More »

MORE ABOUT:
social networking • online fraud • scam • Internet crime • Twitter

Scammers Target
Panicky Job Hunters

Experts warn work-from-home frauds are mushrooming as unemployment rises

May 26, 09 2:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scammers are taking advantage of the recession to con people desperately seeking work out of what little cash they have left, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Watchdog groups warn that phony work-from-home offers promising quick cash in return for an initial outlay of money are proliferating, and that some fraudsters are... More »

MORE ABOUT:
online fraud • fraud • recession • scam • unemployment • job search

 Top Traits That Mean 
 You're a Sucker 

Researchers find a fifth of people are most likely to be fooled by fraudsters

May 19, 09 1:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - British researchers have identified several traits that make a person more likely to be sucked in by a scam, the Daily Telegraph reports. The country's fraud watchdog warns that while nobody is immune to being conned, the following traits make around a fifth of the population most vulnerable:
  • An
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
online fraud • fraud • scam • con man

(Newser) - The results of Time’s online “world’s most influential person” poll have fallen victim to shenanigans, TechCrunch reports. Moot, leader of the devious web forum 4Chan, sits atop Time’s leaderboard, above Barack Obama and other usual suspects. And the first letters of the top 20 spell out... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • online fraud • hackers • Time magazine • opinion polls • 4Chan • influential • marblecake

 Oprah's Not 
 Giving You $1M, 
 FBI Warns Marks 

Bogus email asks for cash payment to attend Oprah 'giveaway'

Apr 9, 09 2:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - The FBI has warned that Oprah Winfrey isn't really giving anybody $1 million, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Scamsters have been sending people emails about a supposed "Oprah Winfrey Millionaire Contest Show." Recipients are told they have been nominated to attend a special show where the host will hand... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • online fraud • fraud • Oprah Winfrey • scam

Facebook 'Friend' Emergency Latest Online Scam

Cybercriminals hijack Facebook accounts to pose as friends in crisis

Feb 6, 09 5:33 AM CST
(Newser) - Fraudsters posing as friends who need emergency cash are scamming Facebook users out of thousands of dollars, CNN reports. Criminals filch Facebook identities, then bombard their friends with desperate-sounding messages pleading for money. The scammers often claim to have been robbed in a foreign country and beg the friend to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
social networking • online fraud • fraud • Facebook • scam • cybercrime

Credit Card Processor Bares Massive Hacker Breach

Sophisticated hackers nab vast amounts credit card data

Jan 21, 09 3:06 AM CST
(Newser) - A credit card payment processor has disclosed a data breach that experts believe could be the biggest ever and may be putting millions of consumers at risk of ripoffs, the Washington Post reports. Heartland Payment Systems, which handles 100 million transactions from 250,000 businesses every month, believes malicious software... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • online fraud • fraud • identity theft • credit card • malware • online payments • security breach

Nigerian Scamsters Want to Be Your Friend

Con artists try to fool Facebook users by posing as friends in need

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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
social networking • online fraud • Nigeria • Facebook • scam • cybercrime • Internet fraud

Flash Attack Could Turn Routers Into Zombies

Experts say online criminals could exploit UPnP to hijack routers

Jan 16, 08 1:11 PM CST
(Newser) - Security experts have demonstrated how attackers could use Flash software and the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) protocol to hijack their home routers, reports PC World. Users exposed to a malicious Flash file could have the servers they're trying to reach changed remotely and secretly, meaning a fraudster could redirect... More »

MORE ABOUT:
online fraud • Skype • instant messaging • hackers • computer security • routers • Adobe • Flash

Online Scammer Impersonates US Colonel

Details taken from website for military families

Jan 2, 08 12:42 AM CST
(Newser) - British woman Wendy McKay had been enjoying her romantic online chats with a handsome US colonel deployed to Iraq, but alarm bells started ringing when the "colonel" suddenly needed thousands of dollars sent to Ghana, the Military Times reports. A con man had stolen the real colonel's identity and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
online fraud • US military • identity theft • online dating

Phishers Adopt New Tactics to Reel In Victims

Online fraudsters turn to shorter URLs to make sites look legit

Dec 3, 07 5:52 PM CST
(Newser) - Internet phishers are using shorter Web addresses to make their sites seem more legitimate, says IBM's online-security division. The group observed fraudulent URLs dropping from 30-37 characters to an average of 17, reports CNET. "The fact that they felt the need to make this move suggests that they were... More »

MORE ABOUT:
online fraud • web surfing • Internet security • phishing

Hacker Blitz Infects Web Search Results

Malicious websites may have fooled Google, Yahoo and MSN

Nov 29, 07 10:50 PM CST
(Newser) - Software security firms believe they uncovered a massive hacker effort earlier this week to "booby-trap" web searches, one which could have rendered Windows and Internet Explorer users vulnerable to fraud. Seemingly innocuous and random search terms, like "Christmas gifts" and "infinity," brought results that included links... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Yahoo • Google • online fraud • hackers • Russian Business Network

Now PayPal Is Everywhere MasterCard Is

New service aims to protect financial info, simplify shopping

Nov 20, 07 10:16 AM CST
(Newser) - PayPal is offering a new way for customers to pay on sites that don't normally accept the service. PayPal Secure Card creates a new MasterCard number for every transaction and retrieves members' payment information from their PayPal accounts. "From a merchant's perspective this looks like any other MasterCard transaction,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • online fraud • shopping • eBay • online retailers • Internet security • phishing • PayPal • MasterCard

Data Thieves Smarten Up, Branch Out

More sophisticated hackers chip away
at your online security

Sep 17, 07 2:41 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hackers are getting smarter, more international, and increasingly well funded, a new report on Internet security reveals. One scam involves gangs acting as middlemen for other would-be criminals; some rip-off artists use social networking sites to research a mark, then send a personalized email to trick the target into giving... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • online fraud • data theft • Symantec • Internet security • hackers

Newmark Brains Scammers

Craig's List founder tracks online
swindlers the old-fashioned way— brainpower

Mar 5, 07 6:20 PM CST
(Newser) - “We are not really that high-tech of a company,” the man who brought classifieds into the Internet age, Craig’s List founder Newmark, tells the New York Observer, explaining why he uses a combo of customer feedback and his own memory—instead of techie solutions like IP-address... More »

MORE ABOUT:
technology • Internet • entrepreneurs • Craig Newmark • online fraud • NYPD • real estate • New York real estate • fraud • Craigslist

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