[SecurityRatty] tag: scam

Shell blames IT contractor for benefits fraud

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Shell Oil is warning employees that a contractor used their personal information to run an unemployment-insurance-claim scam in Texas.

AntiVirus XP ads on Google?

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:12:03 +0000

So, If I had clicked on this ad, and dnloaded this awful program and my puter was infected,,,,
Would Google be responsible?

clipped from www.2-spyware.com

Time for vengeance: AntiVirus XP distributors sued

Malware vendors hide well, however they do make mistakes. Distributors of Antivirus XP were bold enough and dumb enough to buy advertisements on Google Adwords! You get it right: someone looking for anti-virus software on Google search engine was offered Antivirus XP by official adds from Google. The scam was noticed pretty soon. Security experts all over the web guess that this mistake was the one that revealed names of AntivirusXP vendors. Victims of Antivirus XP can start celebrating as the distributors won’t get away easily.

"Scareware" Vendors Sued

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 03:03:09 +0000

This is good:

Microsoft Corp. and the state of Washington this week filed lawsuits against a slew of "scareware" purveyors, scam artists who use fake security alerts to frighten consumers into paying for worthless computer security software.
The case filed by the Washington attorney general's office names Texas-based Branch Software and its owner James Reed McCreary IV, alleging that McCreary's company caused targeted PCs to pop up misleading security alerts about security threats on the victims' computers. The alerts warned users that their systems were "damaged and corrupted" and instructed them to visit a Web site to purchase a copy of Registry Cleaner XP for $39.95.

I would have thought that existing scam laws would be enough, but Washington state actually has a specific law about this sort of thing:

The lawsuits were filed under Washington's Computer Spyware Act, which among other things punishes individuals who prey on user concerns regarding spyware or other threats. Specifically, the law makes it illegal to misrepresent the extent to which software is required for computer security or privacy, and it provides actual damages or statutory damages of $100,000 per violation, whichever is greater.

Washington state pursues 'scareware' distributors

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:00:00 +0000

The Washington state attorney general's office has sued a Texas man for sending "scareware" and is asking the court to require him to stop his activities and pay restitution to people who fell for his alleged scam.

Wot? No I said What! Wot?

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:59:35 +0000

OK, its my Clip, I’ll write what I wanna.
Came across this review of Wot at Webtoolsandtips.com this morning.
This addon seems to have great reviews,
Give it a look at their site.

clipped from addons.mozilla.org

WOT 20080917

WOT, Web of Trust, warns you about risky websites that try to scam visitors, deliver malware or send spam. Protect your computer against online threats by using WOT as your front-line layer of protection when browsing or searching in unfamiliar territory. WOT’s color-coded icons show you ratings for 20 million websites - green to go, yellow for caution and red to stop – helping you avoid the dangerous sites. Surf safer and add WOT to your Firefox now.

The ID card honeypot

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:00:00 +0000

In 1671, a soldier dressed as a priest attempted to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. In 1963, masked men including Ronnie Biggs ambushed a train in bucolic Buckinghamshire to steal 120 mail bags containing used notes -- the scam became known as the Great Train Robbery. In 1983, 6800 gold bars went missing from a lock-up in Heathrow in what became known as the Brinks Mat robbery, and in the same year, the great racehorse Shergar went missing. In 2001, a police sting caught villains red-handed (as they say in tabloids) in an attempt to steal £200m ($370.8 million) worth of diamonds from the Millennium Dome.

First Bust Ever for ATM Reprogramming Scam

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:33:04 +0000

The pair allegedly reprogrammed the machines to believe they were loaded with one-dollar bills instead of tens and twenties. A withdrawal of $20 would thus net $380. The Nebraska case marks the first reported arrests for the keypad capers.

Two Arrested in First Bust for ATM Reprogramming Scam

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:45:00 +0000

Two 21-year-old men are in a Nebraska jail after being caught allegedly scoring $13,000 by reprogramming ATM machines to think they're loaded with $1 bills, instead of tens and twenties.

Feds tighten security on .gov

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 20:00:00 +0000

When you file your taxes online, you want to be sure that the Web site you visit -- www.irs.gov -- is operated by the Internal Revenue Service and not a scam artist. By the end of next year, you can be confident that every U.S. government Web page is being served up by the appropriate agency.

This American Life on Scamming the Scammers

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 10:58:49 +0000

A recent episode of “This American Life” featured a couple of Nigerian scammers — who were being scammed by three other guys. Does it serve them right or is it just dangerous? Either way, it’s good once in a while to see a case where the scammers get scammed back, instead of unwitting consumers.

From the Consumerist:

Last week, “This American Life” featured a 30-minute piece on people who scam the scammers—in this case, three guys who prey upon small-time Nigerian con men and try to trick them into placing themselves in mortal danger. “This American Life” tells how they almost got a guy to enter a Western Union office in Chad carrying an anti-Muslim/pro-Bush note that announces his intention to rob the place. Whether you think these stunts are funny probably depends on your level of empathy even for criminals, and whether you think the avengers ever fully succeed. But c’mon, getting someone in another country to hold up a sign that’s offensive in your language is pretty much always funny

Listen to the episode over at this American Life.