E Gold accused of being a money laundering vehicle for financial fraudsters and child pornographers

To anyone familiar with crime on the Internet, allegations of criminals using, or manipulating E Gold are nothing new. Like wire transfers, E-Gold gives their customers the ability to transfer the value of gold, electronically. To transfer the gold's value, all anyone needs is a e-mail address, account number and password.Because of this, the accounts can be prone to phishing, and or crimeware (malware) attacks, using keylogging software. When this happens, the phishermen clean out the account and transfer it, elsewhere. E-Gold's terms of service...

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Another former IRS employee pleads guilty to fraud

For the second time in the recent past, a former IRS employee (this time a deputy director) is guilty of committing fraud. Specifically, he helped a dishonest tax preparation service convince tax payers to claim illegal deductions, by claiming they were legal.From the DOJ press release:A former Internal Revenue Service (IRS) district director, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the United States through his involvement in a tax fraud scheme promoted by the Topeka, Kansas-based “Renaissance, The Tax People, Inc.,” the Justice Department...

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While everyone sues TJX, the criminals are laughing all the way to the bank

Here is a great example of why there is so much identity theft. In Ontario, a man and his wife went right back committing identity theft, while on bail for running a payment card (debit/credit card) skimming operation. As you will see, they were by no means, small operators.From newsregiondurham.com, Jeff Mitchell reports:Hundreds of new charges have been laid against a fraud suspect and his wife after Durham cops busted the two as they allegedly broke his bail conditions.Police say they found evidence of widespread fraud when they searched the...

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President's Identity Theft Task Force issues recommendations

The Identity Theft Task Force has issued the formal recommendations they've been putting together since May, 2006. The recommendations include feedback solicited from the general public.The final report is comprehensive -- identifying all the issues that have made identity theft and the financial crimes that result from it -- a major concern in the...

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FEMA declares they are becoming stronger after realizing how much money was wasted in the hurricane disasters!

Hope Yen at the AP has written an article based on a report by the Inspector General at Homeland Security that $3.6 billion in contracts were awarded to companies with ties to the Republican Party rather than to local companies, impacted by the Katrina/Rita hurricanes.She quotes Senator Dorgan, who requested the audit, as saying:"This confirms what we already knew about FEMA — there was a staggering level of incompetence, and the victims of Katrina, as well as taxpayers, are taking it on the chin," Sen. Byron Dorgan (news, bio, voting record),...

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Why it's become TOO easy for restaurant workers to skim payment cards

We seem to be seeing a record amount of credit/debit (payment) card fraud recently. The latest is a $3 million scheme -- where restaurant servers were recruited to steal their customer's financial information -- using portable skimming devices, which seem to be easily purchased over the Internet.Samuel Maull of the Associated Press is reporting:Thirteen people were indicted Friday on charges stemming from their roles in the credit card fraud, prosecutors said.The credit card account information was stolen from customers who visited restaurants...

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How much of our Social Security money is benefiting former illegal aliens in Mexico?

With predictions that Social Security might be bankrupt before many of us ever receive any benefits, money potentially being given to people not entitled to it, bothers some people.Dr. Jerome R. Corsi (WorldNetDaily.com) just did a very eye-opening analysis of the problem, where he states:Amid the U.S. government's acknowledgment of rampant document and benefit fraud, the Federal Reserve is wiring 26,000 Social Security payments every month to Mexicans south of the border.Officials with the Federal Reserve and Social Security Administration insist...

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While a nation mourns, cyber criminals are on the attack

Earlier in the week, I blogged about how cyber criminals (ghouls) would likely use the Virginia Tech disaster to line their pockets.According to Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service, this prediction is becoming true -- and according to experts -- fake domains are being set up at a faster rate than after the Katrina hurricane.Even malicious software a.k.a (crimeware) is being circulated via spam e-mails, claiming to have a link to cam phone footage of the incident.Clicking on this filth can turn your computer into a zombie (normally used in a botnet to...

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The case of an alleged $2 billion government contract fraud/abuse in Iraq/Afghanistan

A company providing services to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan has allegedly committed $2 billion in fraud and abuse. Until recently, it was part of Halliburton (spun off after a stock swap)?Donna Borak, of the AP (courtesy of SignOn San Diego) reports:U.S. lawmakers on Thursday railed against defense contractor KBR Inc. for a string of fraud and contract abuses on a multibillion-dollar contract that provides food and shelter to U.S. troops in Iraq.“I think profiteering during wartime is inexcusable,” said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., during...

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Not answering a Privacy Notice gives the sender permission to sell your personal/financial information

Recently, I did a post on the difficulties a blogger had after receiving a privacy notice from one of his financial institutions (American Express) and trying to "opt-out" (let them know he didn't want his personal and financial information sold).In reality, most of the privacy notices, we receive are saying "if you don't respond to me, you are giving us permission to sell your personal and financial information."These privacy notices (hard to distinguish from junk mail) come about from a law passed in 2001 to protect consumers from having their...

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Are Charity Fraudsters (Phishermen and Pharmers) preparing to exploit the Virginia Tech Disaster?

Internet criminals use disasters to get nice people to donate their hard-earned money to them, personally. Recent examples where this occurred have been the Katrina hurricane, Tsunami disaster and London bombings.According to the Sans Internet Storm Center, we can probably expect the same activity to occur in the wake of the Virginia Tech Disaster.Here is what they are reporting in their Handler's Diary:There has been a flurry of domain registrations related to the Virginia Tech tragedy, as reported by GoDaddy and other registrars. While some of...

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Counterfeit MoneyGram Money Orders being passed via Internet Scams

Recently, MoneyGram removed the Travelers Express name from their money order product. The new version is branded simply as MoneyGram, printed in Spanish (Espanol) in addition to English.The old version with the Travelers Express name have been counterfeited and circulated via Internet scams for a couple of years. A lot of them had Walmart's logo printed on them. We've seen similar counterfeit American Express Gift Cheques and Postal Money Orders in recent years, also. Some of these items are still in circulation, including the older Travelers...

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Social Security employee causing $2.5 million in credit card fraud reveals how easily information is stolen from within

Recently, I blogged about a former IRS employee, who committed $330,000 of retail refund fraud (basically shoplifting) in nine states. This morning, I read about a former Social Security Administration employee, who caused an alleged $2.5 million in credit card fraud by providing detailed information on victims to an external identity thief.Sharon Gaudin at Information Week writes:The indictment alleges that Batiste conspired with her cohort Craig Harris and others by agreeing to access the Social Security Administration's computer system to run...

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Mexican Drug gangs post execution videos on YouTube

It used to be that organized drug gangs wanted to keep a low profile. No more, like their jihadist role models, they are using the Internet to spread their twisted message of death and destruction.Manuel Roig-Franzia did an extremely informative article about this for the Washington Post, where he wrote:Bloody bodies -- slumped at steering wheels, stacked in pickup trucks, crumpled on sidewalks -- clog nearly every frame of the music video that shook Mexico's criminal underworld.Posted on YouTube and countless Mexican Web sites last year, the video...

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Oprah's name spoofed in sweepstakes scam

At about the same time, Oprah did a show on Internet scams, the Illinois Attorney General (Lisa Madigan) issued (another) alert about scammers using Oprah's name to instill (trust) in the garbage they send.Although, Oprah has run some sweepstakes recently, this one is a scam!From Attorney General Madigan's press release:According to Harpo Productions, Inc., which produces The Oprah Winfrey Show, several legitimate sweepstakes were held in the summer of 2006 through Oprah.com but all winners were previously notified. Harpo Productions, Inc. has...

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Symantec's Family Resource Web Site

Symantec has launched a new web page designed to educate children (and their parents) about how to avoid the (sometimes) murky waters of the Internet.The goal of the page is to (in their own words):Our goal is to help parents provide guidance to their children who are using the Internet . We want you to keep your children and your computer safe online, and help you make sure your children are good cybercitizens. With your direction and supervision, the Internet can be a positive, safe place for your child to research, learn, communicate, and socialize.The...

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Sage Predictions on the State of Cyber Crime from McAfee

According to McAfee, cyber crime is growing and as soon as the good guys (white hats) close one loophole, the bad guys (black hats) exploit another.Unfortunately, technology grows faster than laws and security fixes. Criminals, who are becoming increasingly organized, realize and exploit this fact, frequently.The report confirms predictions that exploiting VoIP and mobile devices will become more common.Vishing will probably become more dangerous than phishing - it adds a more personal (voice) touch to tricking people into giving up their personal...

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Warning if you don't open (and respond) to snail mail from American Express, they will sell your personal information!

I get snail (mostly junk) mail from credit issuers, daily. Being concerned about identity theft and my personal privacy, I try to shred all of them. But am I doing the right thing? As you will see, some of them probably hope I never do.Here is what happened to someone, who is a lot more diligent than I am (he actually opens the mail). Christoper Null (ATT/Yahoo Tech blogger) got his most recent privacy notice from American Express, which informed him if he didn't want all of his personal and financial information sold, he needed to opt-out with...

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Blog exposes risk in reporting ID Theft

(Screenshot courtesy of the In Security Blog)I'm surprised no one has called this one out before. John Sharp, author of the In Security Blog writes:Those of you who follow my blog know that I'm worried about the increasing sophistication of keyloggers. Which is why, when I went on the FTC site this morning, I was a little shocked to discover that...

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Fake e-mail claiming U.S. has attacked Iran contains Trojan

If you receive a e-mail that Iran has been toasted by a U.S. strike, be careful of clicking on the attachment. Doing so, might toast your computer system.John McDonald posted this information on the Symantec blog:Over the weekend Security Response received samples of the latest variants of Trojan.Peacomm and W32.Mixor doing the rounds. The social engineering trick employed this time is in appealing to people's sense of fear as well as natural curiosity of a possible Middle East war involving the United States, Iran and Israel.Subjects include "USA...

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Are we being gouged with hot gas?

Gas prices seem to keep going up, too frequently. According to ABC, buying gas could even be more expensive than what we see posted at the pump:Consumers are feeling the pain at the pump, as gas prices have risen for nine straight weeks.Now lawsuits around the country claim drivers are being ripped off in a gas gouge they can't even see.There are at least nine lawsuits pending that claim some gas stations are padding their profits by selling warm gasoline.According to the article, the cost impact of this might be:An investigation by the Kansas...

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buySAFE takes on the issue of counterfeit (knock off) merchandise

buySAFE bonds sellers after verifying they are reputable and honest. They also contribute their time to protecting the average person in the sometimes murky waters of e-commerce. Recently, buySAFE has been taking on the (huge) issue of counterfeit merchandise.Consumers are protected when they buy from a merchant bearing the buySAFE seal. Not a very bad deal for the consumer! Bonding isn't free, but many merchants experience higher sales volumes after being accepted by buySAFE. Trust can drive a lot of sales! buySAFE is also a viable means for a...

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Former IRS employee charged with a different type of refund fraud

With the deadline to file our taxes almost upon us, the term refund fraud, normally is associated with filing a fraudulent tax refund. A former IRS employee, Robert Dooley has been charged a different type of refund fraud (retail). The stated losses in this case were $330,000.Dooley allegedly stole merchandise and refunded it in nine states (he gets...

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Retailers and the FBI band together to fight organized crime

Communication is probably the most effective tool in fighting financial crimes, especially those of the organized sort. Financial crooks (scam artists) thrive on a lack of communication and knowledge.The retail industry realizes this and in partnership with the FBI is launching a secure tool that businesses and law enforcement can use to communicate criminal activity with each other. A simple, but powerful principle.Here is the information on this new tool from the NRF site:In response to an alarming rise in organized retail crime, the National...

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Google name used in Internet deployed Lottery Scam

If it's too good to be true, it probably isn't (especially on the Internet). A spam e-mail, I received today informed me that I've won Google's lottery and 500,000 euros.Trusted names are used to provide a false sense of legitimacy. Since I myself am a Google fan (user), I decided to comment on this one.When the (eventually unfortunate) winner answers one of these, they are asked to send (wire transfer is preferred) money to cover taxes and tariffs to get their prize released.Frequently, the scammer will send a counterfeit check (normally official,...

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Is tax fraud being enabled by too many dishonest preparers?

In February, I wrote about fraudulent tax returns being filed using forged W-2s.Another story recently surfaced from the SF Bay area, where Jackson Hewitt preparers were complaining this seasonal type of fraud is getting out of control.Kate Williamson (Examiner) wrote:If successful, the fraud allows tax cheats to receive thousands of dollars, either from the federal government or from companies making tax refund anticipation loans. It is sometimes coupled with identity theft, which can create problems for law-abiding citizens when they go to file...

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Will law suits stop Spam Kings?

Spam is a vehicle for a lot of deceptive (false) advertising and financial crimes when phishing schemes are deployed using them.Here is an announcement that MySpace is going after a Sanford Wallace (described as a spam king) with a civil action.From the Business wire release:MySpace announced today that it filed suit against Sanford Wallace for violations of state and federal laws including the CAN-SPAM Act and California's anti-spam and anti-phishing statutes. The suit, filed in United States District Court in Los Angeles on Friday, seeks a permanent...

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