Technology isn't stopping Spam

Anyone noticed that spam is filling up your inbox? No, it's not your imagination, experts are saying the volume has increased up to 300 percent -- depending who you talk to.As usual - in the technology versus technology battle - the bad guys seem to have defeated a lot of the countermeasures (spam-filters) that have been developed in recent years.If you would like to see all the technical explanations, Network World did an excellent article with links to previous articles, here.According to the Network World article, a certain Amichai Inbar a.k.a....

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Tickets to the Oprah Show Smell a little Phishy

First gypsies impersonate Dr. Phil and now someone is selling tickets to the Oprah show that smell a little "phishy."Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan warned the public in a official statement:In this case, e-mail recipients are asked to submit personal information and told they will receive tickets to The Oprah Winfrey Show after verification of certain financial information and/or the wiring of money to an unknown third party. However, according to Harpo Productions, Inc., The Oprah Winfrey Show does not sell tickets or ticket travel packages...

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India Deals with the Problem of Credit/Debit Card Cloning

We read a lot of stories about credit/debit card skimming in the West, but see very few stories about it in other parts of the world.India, which has become a giant in IT circles is now being victimized by the problem.In May, I did a post about cloned credit/debit cards showing up in India. Since then I've had the pleasure of corresponding with a "security...

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How to Protect Yourself from the Cyber Criminals on Cyber Monday

Black Friday has come and gone and now we have Cyber Monday to look forward to. Cyber Monday was coined by the National Retail Federation because it represents one the largest e-commerce shopping days of the year.While shoppers search the Internet for all the "deals" that will be offered, another element - the cyber criminals - will be offering "goods and services" at too good to be true prices.If we are to believe recent statistics, the cyber-criminals will be out there in force.According to the National Consumers League and National Cyber Security...

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Are Counterfeit Documents being Mass-Produced in Nigeria?

In the past several years, we've seen all sorts of counterfeit financial instruments (money orders, cashiers checks and now American Express gift cheques) being passed in Internet scams.A recent TimesOnline story stated:Nigerians are forging passports and cheques on an industrial scale and that huge numbers of false documents are passing through provincial British airports.The face value of the fraudulent financial instruments discovered in "routine checks" amounted to millions of dollars, and the documents (non-financial) are probably used in...

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Consumers Union Calls for Credit Card Reforms on the Eve of Black Friday

Recently, I blogged about "Credit Card Gotchas" after being inspired by a e-mail I received from the Consumers Union.I got another one that makes a lot of sense, which is to think carefully before spending money you don't have this weekend. Since tomorrow is "Black Friday," the biggest shopping day of the year, the timing is appropriate.In their own...

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buySAFE Survey Reveals Customer's Fears about e-Commerce

Rob Caskey - who is buySAFE's marketing guru - sent me this interesting survey they conducted. What's interesting about the survey is that takes the fear of Internet fraud beyond bogus financial instruments and identity theft to a more basic level.The survey reveals that the average person fears they won't get the product received, or get something other than what was represented. And if you consider all the variations of auction fraud on the Internet, this is what normally happens to the average customer when they are defrauded.And - after all...

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Is it a Lack of Security at Retailers Causing the Debit/Credit Card Breaches?

Whether by hacking databases, or placing skimming devices on point-of-sale systems, debit/credit card fraud is raising it's ugly head, worldwide.After finishing my most recent post about skimming devices placed on BP point-of-sale systems in the UK, I read an article in Computer World about what might be the latest large data breach.Jaikumar Vijayan writes:Several financial institutions last week canceled thousands of credit and debit cards in Michigan because of fraud concerns related to an apparent data compromise at a convenience store chain,...

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ATM Skimming Case Travels to 19 Countries on 5 Continents

Skimming device (courtesy of the "ATM Pool" at Flickr)Police in the United Kingdom are calling an ATM skimming case, one of the biggest of it's kind. ATM skimming is where a debit-card's magnetic stripe is counterfeited (cloned) and the PIN (personal identification number) is compromised - normally with a hidden camera.Official's estimate the fraud...

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Why Do We Keep Blaming Identity Theft Victims?

I just got done reading an article by Mark Seagraves (WTOP Radio) about 478 laptops that have been stolen from the IRS. Mark was able to obtain this information via the "Freedom of Information Act."At first, I thought "here we go again," but in reality -- there are probably thousands of laptops that have disappeared in the private sector that were never made a public record via the "Freedom of Information Act."In fact - in a lot of the data breaches observed - the breached seem to disclose as little as possible. I wonder if we know about every...

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Flash Mob to Attack Fake Bank Sites this Weekend!

It seems the "artists" (Artists Against 419) are planning an offensive against Internet scammers this weekend.They are inviting people to see what this is all about and participate if they wish.In their own words:Welcome to the Fifteenth Flash Mob!Three years doesn't seem like a long time in the grand scheme of things. But in that time, aa419 has grown into a major anti-fraud force on the internet. A quick look at our database will tell you why -- we have identified more than 10,000 fake web sites in that time, and shut almost all of them down.We're...

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Why Buying Gift Cards on Auction Sites isn't a Good Idea

I recently did a post wondering if sites reselling gift cards would create an additional avenue for dishonest people to commit fraud. After all - gift card fraud - isn't new and eBay limits the sales of them on their sites because of the criminal activity associated with them.The main reason eBay limited the sales on their site was pressure from the retail industry, or so I've read.Fraud committed against retailers costs billions, and it's added into the "cost of goods sold," which means we are all paying higher prices because of it. There is a...

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