Scams
A New Virus is Floating Around
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You’ve heard about the e-mails that show up and pose themselves as coming from your bank. They give you some line about needing you to update your contact information. Well, the latest virus going around is disguised in an e-mail attachment that […]
Bird Flu Migrates to the PC
Hackers are capitalizing on the fear people have over the bird flu. By disguising themselves as useful e-mail messages, they lure computer users into downloading documents containing important information about the bird flu.
With subject lines that read “What is avian influenza (bird flu)?” or “Outbreak in North America”, the e-mails are hard to ignore. Once […]
Using Throw-away E-mail Addresses
I’ve been using an online service for the past few weeks that allows me to generate an e-mail address on the fly. It’s called GishPuppy.
Let’s say you’re registering for a site or making a purchase and you really don’t want to get stuck on another e-mail list. Just right-click and “Gish It!” to create a […]
Phishing on Google’s Brand
A report earlier this month described phisher’s using Google’s brand to trick users into installing a bogus Google toolbar. The method of communication was through IM and IRC networks.
Several goals are on the table. First, users are tricked into entering their credit card information. Second, a phony Google toolbar is installed. Yet another is to […]
Files Held For Ransom
You wake up one morning to find an unusual e-mail message in your inbox. It could read something like, “We have encrypted your files. If you ever want to see them again, pay us $200 or we hit the delete key!” I wouldn’t even be surpised if it ended with “Have a nice day.”
Yes, the […]
Hackers Attacking Hackers
An interesting twist of events has occurred in the land of hackerdom. Fed up with all the phishing scams that have been on the rise, white hat hackers have taken to defacing the fake Web sites that fool visitors into entering such personal information as usernames, passwords, and the prize gem of them all: their […]
AOL Fights Phishing
The longtime ISP provider, AOL, has launched an attack against phishing scams. Phishing, also known as pharming, is the act of showing you a Web site that looks like it’s from a company you know, but isn’t. The purpose of this is to get you (the customer) to enter your logon or other personal information. […]
