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"The global criminal world of oil, narcotics and guns now has broadband." This is how science fiction writer Bruce Sterling summed up the current Internet crime wave at a recent session of Gartner's 10th annual IT Security Summit in Washington, D.C. Sterling contends that the solution is not more laws, but more aggressive prosecution of existing laws. For more details, see http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3365491
In recent months, some people making purchases from online auction sites such as eBay have unwittingly been buying stolen merchandise in a type of scam known as "triangulation."
In this type of fraud, criminals use stolen credit cards to buy merchandise from online retailers (usually small, specialized e-commerce sites that sell tools and appliances), then resell the goods at bargain prices on eBay. The unwitting buyers agree to pay with money orders or electronic fund transfers, allowing the thieves to easily convert their stolen credit card numbers into cash.
The Merchant Risk Council urges consumers to protect themselves by asking the seller to provide a product's serial numbers before agreeing to purchase it. For more details, see http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5158208
According to a crime research study, nearly half of the crimes related to bank card fraud are perpetrated by citizens of the former Yugoslavia, Romania, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Indonesia, while Americans commit only 1.7% of these crimes. For details, see http://www.crime-research.org/news/13.04.2004/204
At the end of June, a Nigerian law enforcement agency reported it had detained over 500 email fraud suspects and seized more than $500 million in ill-gotten gains. Nigeria also reported plans to deploy software that can aid in the fight against email fraud by identifying key words that typically appear in scammers' emails. For details, see http://business.iafrica.com/news/331660.htm
A con artist who posed as a licensed physician and charged for prescribing drugs over the Internet got no mercy from a federal appeals court when he sought to shorten his 77-month sentence. For details, see http://zdnet.com.com/2110-1104_2-5195986.html
Virus writers are now peddling the IP addresses of infected machines ("BotNets") in a burgeoning racket that's attracted organized crime. This illegal trade is making spam investigations more difficult. See http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/30/spam_biz/
A New York Times essay by Seth Schiesel describes how fraud baiters are waging
a vigilante campaign to beat Internet scammers at their own game. For details,
see
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/17/technology/circuits/17hoax.html?ex=1088511300&ei=1&en=26c910fd3660922a
Some spam fighters have gone undercover to wage war against spam. In a bid to glean vital insider information that could aid their mission, spam busters have begun infiltrating exclusive online spammer forums such as the Pro Bulk Club and bulkmails.org, which are normally open only to members with a proven track record in spamming. For details, see http://www.theregister.com//2004/05/14/spam_club/
Internet callers from Nigeria and elsewhere recently hijacked a telephone relay system for deaf people in order to perpetrate their fraudulent schemes. For details, see http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/dailystar/17393.php
According to the terms of an FTC settlement in May, Brian Westby and Martijn P. Bevelander, who are charged with using deceptive spam to trick recipients into visiting adult websites, were fined $112,500 and barred from using false subject lines and false header information in email. For more details, see http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/05/westbysettlement.htm
Up to five years of jail time plus hefty fines could be facing con artists who "phish" for users' sensitive information on the Internet in ID theft schemes. For details, see