Were camera systems hacked in the bomb threat hoaxes?

Photo courtesy of elegantmob at FlickrThe bomb hoaxes occurring nationwide are creating a lot of fear and speculation.When reading a Slashdot entry, I came across one of the more interesting speculations about these bomb threats. The speculation is that hackers are taking control of the camera systems in the affected locations and have the ability...

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Fake e-mail from the BBB stating someone complained about you is a scam!

If you get an e-mail from the Better Business Bureau stating that a complaint has been made against you - it might be a good idea to just delete it.Websense is reporting:Websense® Security Labs™ has received reports of a new email spam variant similar to an attack launched early this year. The spoofed email purports to be from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The message claims that a complaint has been filed against the recipient's company. Attached to the message is a Microsoft Word document (Document_for_Case.doc), supposedly containing additional...

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ICE raids two more companies and discovers stolen identities being used by illegal immigrants

Two more food processing companies have been raided by ICE (Immmigration and Customs Enforcement) in the past week. At least some of the illegal immigrants detained were found to be using stolen identities.In North Carolina, 25 of the illegal immigrants were using the identities of U.S. citizens. From the ICE press release:United States Attorney George E. B. Holding announced today that his office has obtained criminal complaints charging 25 individuals with identity theft and various immigration violations. These individuals were arrested on Aug....

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IRS name used to phish for ID theft victims, again!

Government agencies and trusted brands are often spoofed (impersonated) in phishing attempts, which are social engineering ploys to steal personal and financial information, and or download cybernasties (malware, crimeware) on your system. Please note the cybernasties normally steal information from your computer, also.The information culled from you, or your computer is then used to make YOU an identity theft statistic.In the past couple of years, spoofing the IRS has become an old story, but they keep on doing it.Here are the most recent updates...

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China caught stealing government information again!

The Chinese, who were recently accused of poisoning pets and selling toxic toothpaste are now being accused of hacking into government computers in Germany.Roger Boyes of the TIMESONLINE reports:Der Spiegel, quoting senior officials from the German equivalent of Special Branch, said that the hacking operation was discovered in May. Computers in the Chancellery, the Foreign, Economics and Research ministries had been targeted. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) conducted a comprehensive search of government IT installations...

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Apophis - a malware tool that is smart and can steal 30,000 people's personal details

If anyone thinks our personal information is safe, think again. Panda Labs, an International security software company, recently discovered a tool, which appears to be stealing personal and financial details on a global basis.From Panda's press release:A version of Apophis, a tool used by cyber-crooks to handle information stolen from users infected by several variants of the Nuklus family of Trojans, stores data belonging to over 30,000 users from more than twenty countries. PandaLabs has been able to access a file with some of the stolen data....

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Monster.com might be sending you a letter that your information was compromised

Photo courtesy of shane_allen at FlickrIf you posted your information for a job on Monster.com, you might be getting a letter notifying you that your personal details have been compromised:Joseph Menn, Los Angeles Times is reporting:Monster.com said Thursday that 1.3 million users had personal information stolen by criminals who hacked into the job-placement...

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7-Eleven Clerk accused of stealing winning lottery ticket from customer

This story shows why it might be important to be careful when checking your lottery ticket at your local 7-Eleven.Art Campos at the Sacramento Bee is reporting:A man who went to a 7-Eleven in Roseville to check on his lottery tickets had picked the right numbers, but state officials said it was the clerk who almost hit the jackpot.The female clerk told the customer he won $4 on his Mega Millions picks for Aug. 14, and then pocketed his winning ticket worth $555,000, California Lottery officials said.However, the clerk's alleged scheme fell apart...

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Internet criminals stealing information from job sites isn't anything new!

The recent reports about 1.3 million Monster users having their information stolen from the job site has become somewhat of a major news story. While this seems shocking, the truth is that job sites have been targeted for the information they contain, or to recruit people to commit crimes (sometimes unknowingly) for quite awhile now.Jim Finkle at Retuers (courtesy of the Washington Post) recently covered this story:Monster.com waited five days to tell its users about a security breach that resulted in the theft of confidential information from...

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The sad state of affairs in the information (identity) theft crisis

It shouldn't surprise anyone that data breaches are becoming more prevalent than ever, or that identity theft is up fifty percent since 2003.Robert L. Scheier (courtesy of InfoWorld) wrote an article about this that is getting a lot of play in the press:Today's electronic world is a risky place for your personal data -- and it's not getting any safer. More than 158 million data records of U.S. residents have been exposed as a result of security breaches since January 2005, according to The Privacy Rights Clearing House, a nonprofit consumer rights...

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A look into Arizona's identity theft and counterfeit document problem

Fake ID picture courtesy of caural at FlickrI've done a couple of posts about how new employment verification laws are likely cause more illegal immigrants to use real identities. In the not too distant future, Social Security numbers are probably going to have to be able to be tied into a real identity to meet federal employment eligibility requirements.Arizona...

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Russian identity thieves target the rich and famous

Photo courtesy of CarbonNYC at FlickrAn interesting story hit the news this week about some Russian identity thieves targeting the rich and famous.The ringleader was talked into meeting Federal Agents in the Dominican Republic, then entered the country (he believed illegally) and was arrested. Not very bright, especially given the clout of his intended...

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Are fraudulent practices partially to blame in the current mortgage crisis?

We seem to be facing a looming financial crisis because of irresponsible lending practices that enabled a lot of people to buy property that was beyond their means.Many will blame the people, who took out the mortgages, but are there other factors bear consideration when looking into the cause?Although fraud hasn't been cited as a reason, government investigators might be pretty busy in a effort to discover why this problem occurred.The Herald Tribune is reporting:Within the next six months, it should be clear how regulators will proceed against...

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Class action law suit filed against Certegy for data breach

Data breaches are likely to become costly to organizations who fail to protect their information. The TJX data breach (45 million people and counting compromised) has inspired several legal actions in both the United States and Canada.Now a similar action is being brought against Certegy, a check verification company, who had an insider sell information to a still (as far as I know) undisclosed data broker.An August 15th press release announced:The law firm of Girard Gibbs LLP (http://www.girardgibbs.com/) has filed a class action complaint on...

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Identity theft, the crime that can follow a person for years!

I first started reading David Lazarus at the San Francisco Chronicle early in 2006, when he wrote about a huge data breach that was later tied to Office Max. Please note that Office Max never quite admitted to being the point of compromise.That data breach was tied to payment card fraud that spread quickly across the entire country.Since then it's become very apparent that hackers have been targeting merchants for the credit/debit (payment) card information they've been storing in not very safe places.David has left his digs at the San Francisco...

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FTC shuts down prepaid debit card vendors with hidden fees

Photo courtesy of Big Dubya at FlickrWe keep getting warned that it's dangerous to give out too much personal information on the Internet. In this instance -- semi-legitimate financial companies, supported by annoying pop-up ads and Internet advertising -- have been caught deducting a $159.95 (hidden fee) out of people's checking accounts that were...

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Self service stamp machines targeted by credit card thieves

Photo courtesy of Leff at FlickrNew scams are invented daily. Here is one, where self-service stamp machines (the kind that accept payment cards) are being targeted at Post Offices.David Bowermaster at the Seattle Times is reporting:In mid-July, three men left their homes near Los Angeles and traveled to Seattle to buy postage stamps.But these were...

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Are illegal immigrants from Islamic nations slipping across our Southern border?

Not all the illegal immigrants slipping across our Southern border were born in Mexico. For years, a substantial amount of them hail from Central America and now there is evidence that Islamic drug traffickers are using the route, also.Although many of the people making this crossing are looking for jobs, which will enable them to make a better life for themselves, the entire process is controlled by organized criminals. While many of us have sympathy (empathy) for people trying to make a better life for themselves, it is often hard to distinguish...

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Bizzare site asks viewers for money to keep a bunny from being butchered!

I was reading the Sunbelt blog, written by Alex Eckelberry and came across a post he did on a bizzare and pretty sick website.In Alex's own words:save-me-please(dot)com is a site dedicated to saving a bunny.We have no idea what this is odd thing is: A joke, a hoax. Or a scam.The whole intent of the site is to get a person to pay to save the bunny.You...

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Will Social Security number verification slow down illegal immigration?

Employers will soon have to take action against employees, who have a Social Security number that doesn't exist, or doesn't match the name associated with it. In the past, they were able to ignore the fact that these types of discrepancies existed.With statistics showing that employee fraud and abuse cost corporations billions of dollars, it's amazing...

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Celebrities, including Paris Hilton become identity theft victims

(Courtesy of Flickr) Only the photographer knows who is behind the mask.No one's identity is safe these days. It's just been reported that a lot of celebrity types, including Paris Hilton have had their identities jacked (stolen).Tampa Bay's 10.com reports:Investigators busted a massive identity theft ring allegedly operating out of a row home in Northeast...

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IRS audit reveals that the human factor is one the greatest threats to information (computer) security

(Courtesy of Flickr)A new report issued by the Treasury Department's inspector general reveals that too many IRS employees compromised their user ID and password to an unknown person, who was actually a government auditor posing as a help desk employee.Sixty percent of the IRS employees fell for the social engineering trick, sometimes referred to as...

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