Internet Users Hbk - Chapter 6i. Various Types and Examples of Internet Scams
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Free PDF Download I Read Your Ebook, and it Gave Me A Headache! - By Dr Don Yates Sr PhD |
Undisclosed recipients
Dear Sir/Madam,
With full corporate responsibility under penalty of Perjury, I want to ask your personal assistance and co-operation as I propose hereunder: I am the Manager of Northern Investment Bank, England, United Kingdom and I got your contact details during my search for a reliable, honest and a trust worthy person to entrust with this transaction. I was introduced to the late Yugoslavian President, Mr. Slobodan Milosevic during the Kosovo war in 1999 and when he confidentially deposited 450 Kilograms of Gold Bars and a huge sum in a fixed deposit account with my branch.
Unfortunately, Mr. Milosevic did not leave any beneficiary for this deposit and that made it impossible for us to contact any of his Family to claim the Fund.
Then I decided to move the fund into a suspense account without beneficiary and find a Partner in the Gulf region who can assist me to withdraw this deposit as beneficiary/depositor. I have already submitted an audited approved end of the year Report for the year 2008 of my branch to our head office at Makola Shopping Mall here in London; this excess will never be discovered.
As an officer of the bank I cannot legally withdraw this money, but I want to use you as Front to claim the fund legitimately. Thus I am impelled to request for your assistance to receive this money into your bank account. I intend to part 40percent of this fund and the balance shall be for me.
I do need to stress that there are practically no hazard involved in this transaction. The transaction will be a bank-to-bank transfer and I will apply for my annual Leave so that I can travel to meet you once transfer is confirmed into your account.
I will send you detail arrangement of the procedures that we shall apply to legally transfer the fund into your bank account, when I receive your confirmation. Your timely response will be appreciated and you can call me on Cell phone: +xx-703-592-3735 anytime 24/7.
For some reason, the central bank managed to approve the check. The friend claimed the check was from the sale of something outside of the country and was to be used to buy his father and family a house.
The bank apparently believed the claim (one time only – I suspect) and approved the inflow of money into the country. Once cleared by the central bank, the deposit was deposited in his account, but later rejected for insufficient funds available. Fortunately, he never put any of his own money on the table, but he did manage to learn something.
I am the next of kin to the metallic strong box containing 6.5m usd clean cash which is lying down in K.L.I.A for safe keeping. Sir the fund is not a stolen or drug fund. My late Father was an owner of a small Gold and Diamond Corporation Company in my home town in Somalia. my father died as a result of power struggle. It was a political struggle.
After his death I and my mother had to move to Ghana high commissioner in Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur to resettle and also because of the consignment which was deposited by my late father muhammed siad barre with security company before it was shipped to Malaysia but we are also not safe because if those in Somalia understand that we are still alive, they will come after us and our life will be in serious danger as some of them are aware that we have this kind of fund.
Sir the original person who supposed to clear the consignment on our behalf here in Malaysia as our beneficiary he later betrayed us after my mother had made all efforts to ship the consignment out of Africa [Somalia] to Malaysia. He later called us that he is going to take 70% for the total fund that was when my mother stopped the diplomat not to deliver the consignment to him anymore because he is a greedy man. my mother now sent me to Malaysia to monitor the consignment.
That is the reason why we are seeking for your almost assistance to stand as our new beneficiary to clear the consignment for us as our trustee. Sir please do render us your TRUST and keep this transaction confidential for security reasons, because the fund is our life and our future.
Sir I and my mother have agreed to offer you 20% for your assistance and 10% for any expenses you will carry out during this transaction including your phone calls. Sir we intend to invest wherever we finally reside and I believe you could be of useful assistance in area of investment.
Please kindly reach me. So that I will forward you all the vita document covering the consignment. Sir please do not under estimate our request because it is very important, we are planning to invest in an hotel business in your country. please kindly send us your full information. Thanks Muhammed sheriff
#1 ---If you get a notice of a PHOTO TAG ... DO NOT OPEN IT!!!
#2--- If you get a notification that a friend reported you for offensive behavior etc.. DO NOT open it!!!
#3--- a message from your friends via chat saying click this links.. DO NOT OPEN IT!! These are BAD ones and will crash your computer
I could not find the original article but these give the general outline... itnews.com.au/News/214827,facebook-takes-on-afps-point-of-contact-request.aspx and .itnews.com.au/News/214258,afp-demands-facebook-offer-one-click-police-alarm.aspx
Above links not available
I also came across two very good articles ... the first one on the security flaws in FB and the second one is on how to protect yourself if you use FB... http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/facebooks-security-flaws-exposed/story-e6frgakx-1225898699575
AND http://www.sophos.com/en-us/security-news-trends/security-trends/facebook.aspx
The message you will displayed as normal Facebook message on your profile, if you click on the message which re-directs you to Malware / Trojan coded page then the small script will be downloaded to your computer. This tiny Trojan application is called “genie tool”.
Below is the screen-shot of the Trojan script.
Internet security, malware and anti-virus developing company Sophos today revealed that a new breed of Facebook “Dislike Button” trick takes you to a page where a hidden JavaScript code will be installed to your Browser or directly to your system32 folder. Once the JavaScript installed to your computer it sends all the activities of you on your computer to the author.
Sophos also mentioned that, so far the damage done by “genie tool” is unknown, but it’s my duty to inform to my reader about this malware. Ignore if you receive such message or delete it immediately. Don’t forget to report message as Spam.
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Posted On Thursday, May 19, 2011 By Navin. UnderFACEBOOK, SOCIAL
Facebook, Twitter or other social media version of the ruse, users are asked to "take a quiz to win a free iPad and must supply their cell phone number to receive the results. In actuality they are signed up for a cell phone scam that costs $10 a week," McAfee said. Here's the rest of the company's "12 Scams of Christmas" list:
"Help! I’ve Been Robbed" — "This travel scam sends phony distress messages to family and friends requesting that money be wired or transferred so that they can get home."
Fake gift cards — Social media (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace as examples) are used by no-goodniks to "promote fake gift card offers with the goal of stealing consumers’ information and money, which is then sold to marketers or used for ID theft".
"One recent Facebook scam offered a 'free $1,000 Best Buy gift card" to the first 20,000 people who signed up for a Best Buy fan page, which was a lookalike. To apply for the gift card they had to provide personal information and take a series of quizzes."
Twitter scams offer dangerous links to high-paying, work-at-home jobs that ask for your personal information, such as your e-mail address, home address and Social Security number to apply for the fake job."
You've heard of phishing? "Smishing" is when a phishing SMS, or text messages, arrives on your cell phone, wanting you to bite. "These texts appear to come from your bank or an online retailer saying that there is something wrong with an account and you have to call a number to verify your account information. In reality, these efforts are merely a ruse to extract valuable personal information from the targets".
Suspicious holiday rentals — many of us are looking to save on that Christmas-y cabin in the mountains or chic vacation apartment in the city of our dreams. "During peak travel times when consumers often look online for affordable holiday rentals, cyber crooks post fake holiday rental sites that ask for down payments on properties by credit card or wire transfer."
Recession scams continue — "Scammers target vulnerable consumers with recession related scams such as pay-in-advance credit schemes. McAfee Labs has seen a significant number of spam e-mails advertising pre-qualified, low-interest loans and credit cards if" — that emphasis is mine —"the recipient pays a processing fee, which goes directly into the scammer’s pocket."
Grinch-like greetings, involving e-cards — Electronic cards can save paper and postage, but "cyber criminals load fake versions with links to computer viruses and other malware instead of cheer ... Computers may start displaying obscene images, pop-up ads, or even start sending cards to contacts that appear to come from you."
Google admitted for the first time its "Street View" cars around the world accidentally collected more personal data than previously disclosed — including complete e-mails and passwords —potentially breathing new life into probes in various countries.
Low price traps — Discussed above, as the "too good to be true" deals, which are promoted on some auction sites and fake websites. The aim, McAfee says: "the goal of stealing your money and information."
Charity scams — "Common ploys include phone calls and spam e-mails asking you to donate to veterans’ charities, children's causes and relief funds for the latest catastrophe."
Holiday-themed screensavers jingles and animations are an easy way for scammers to spread viruses and other computer threats especially when links come from an e-mail or IM that appears to be from a friend."
Hotel and airport Wi-Fi vulnerabilities — this is an anytime risk with thieves who are savvy enough to hack into public networks being used by hurried travelers. Hacker-thieves can steal credit card numbers, bank accounts and other forms of personal identity; try not to access bank accounts, for example, or give your credit card number online while using public Wi-Fi. It's a good rule for every day — not just for the holidays.
Over 100,000 plus people worldwide have fallen prey to the Travel Ventures International (TVI Express) Worldwide SCAM.
When TVI Express first came to the U.S. in the fall of 2009, I like thousands of other unsuspecting people, fell hook, line and sinker for what is now being called by true business experts....."The Mother of All Scams".
After seeing many "red flags" and things that just made absolutely no logical sense, I decided to do some detailed investigative research on TVI Express! What I discovered is both shocking and downright disgusting!
My goal and intention in creating this Facebook group is to educate as many people as I can worldwide on the truth relative to the TVI Scam so no one else will get hurt financially and emotionally by this Totally Fabricated Shell Company!
My sincere hope and prayer is that the massive exposure of this TVI Scam Group here on Facebook will cause a chain reaction from honest, good-hearted people everywhere which will lead to the final undoing and total destruction of this real world "Ponzi" Scheme!
It has been said, that the only thing needed for evil to flourish in the world is for good men and women to do nothing! Well, the creation of this group is my humble attempt to "do something".
I hope you will join this group, share the information with others and do your part to see that justice is served and that this TVI Insanity will soon be stopped forever!
TVI Express is incorporated off shore in Cyprus. Ownership of TVI remains completely hidden. TVI Express does not meet regulatory compliance in The United States, Australia, the UK and more. As a result individuals in those countries are being held accountable.
Australia has become the first country to take action against TVI Express. The ACCC (Australian Competition & Consumer Commission) has issued an injunction restricting individuals from promoting TVI Express (alleged illegal pyramid scheme) in Australia pending formal hearing. During this process access to their own bank accounts has been restricted. http://tinyurl.com/23g2jfb
Gi Hong Juang and Han Qiang were recently sent to prison in China for marketing TVI.
http://tinyurl.com/2v2nz8k
Please join me in sharing the truth about TVI with anyone you know who has gotten caught up in this mess by inviting them to join this group! Be sure to visit my YouTube Channel entitled TVI Scam @http://tinyurl.com/2wxfh8g Major Steve Motley
I am in Australia too, and despite being on the Don Not Call Register I received half a dozen calls like this. On one those calls I tried to get information about the company the caller was working for. It was obvious she was reading from a script, and had no knowledge of what she was talking about. I hope she took my advice to get a real job, but I doubt that. Neville Dinning
6.37 Top Internet Scams of 2010
Jennifer Clarke’s mother isn’t as computer savvy as she would hope, so she calls her daughter before doing anything online.
“I get calls like, ‘I’m on YouTube and there’s a window flashing and saying I need to update my computer, should I click it?’” says Jennifer*. “I have to say, ‘no, Mom, that’s a scam.’”
While Ms. Clarke is trying to protect herself, she still illustrates a disturbing trend: more and more internet users are buying into online scams. The FBI reported that the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received its 2 millionth complaint in November. The IC3 has been the go-to site for online fraud victims since 2003, but, according to Jennifer, “most people probably haven’t heard of that.” In fact, themselves a victim of identity theft in 2006, the Clarke family admitted they’d never heard of the IC3 or thought to report the incident. “We just moved across town,” says Jennifer.
The year 2010 has been one of the worst years for online scams, with a 111.4 percent increase of malicious website creation since 2009. Websense, the leading information security company, made their online scam statistic findings public. Websense reports that this year, 79 per cent of malicious codes were found on legitimate, trusted websites such as search engine Google or blogging center WordPress. While e-mail scams decreased by 0.7 percent, nearly 90 percent of fraudulent e-mails referred the reader to a malicious site, and 9 percent of scams still happen through e-mail alone.
Scammers are getting smarter. The invention of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy means viruses can be directed towards a target audience, not just sent in all directions via e-mail. SEO strategizing means a scammer can write a malicious code into a website and then add keywords, or tags, to the page. These tags are what major search engines like Google or Yahoo see during a search. They’re also what’s often displayed when the results of a search load. Using SEO strategy, the scammer can make sure their malicious page will appear near the top of the search results. Victims are actually downloading viruses during innocent web browsing and searching. 52 percent of data stealing attacks this year happened over the internet.
Once a virus has been downloaded from a malicious website or e-mail, it wreaks havoc on computer systems. While most virus symptoms look the same— the computer runs more slowly, numerous pop-ups appear, some programs just won’t run— there are actually many different types of virus programs.
One of the most common virus programs is called a Trojan horse, named after the Greek myth. This is a virus that looks like a legitimate program, so users are tricked into downloading it and using the software. Trojan viruses gain unauthorized access to computer systems and are what cause those pop-ups to appear, even when users are not surfing the internet.
Other common viruses include program viruses, which (much like Trojans) come in the form of a fake computer program— often accompanied by a .EXE file extension. These viruses affect other programs in the computer.
Stealth viruses ‘hide’ from antivirus software, concealing themselves inside other files, altering their file size, and other tricks to look like legitimate files. Boot sector viruses infect disks, and spread when a person lets their friend borrow a computer CD. All of these are ‘classic’ viruses which can usually be caught with a good antivirus software or spam filter.
Unfortunately, though, antivirus software can’t do everything. Virus writers wanting to steal information, or computer ‘hackers,’ are evolving as fast as the software trying to shield them out. New viruses include names like article X viruses and Java control viruses, which can attack a computer through web browsers alone, just by having an unsuspecting user visit a website. These are especially devastating to users who don’t disable pop-ups or block unknown Java programs from running. A new version of stealth viruses is also emerging, called ‘polymorphic’ viruses— which alter their coding, or virus signature, every time they infect a new file.
This makes it very difficult for an antivirus program to even detect the problem, let alone delete it. Some protection programs don’t even have the capacity to delete certain viruses, such as macro viruses, which infect any program or file which supports a macro programming language. Such programs as Microsoft Word or Excel support macro languages, and if infected, each document produced is also infected. These viruses can even travel if the unsuspecting user e-mails the document to friends or family.
The goal, for a majority of these viruses, is to steal data. Keystrokes can be recorded, passwords extracted, or identification compromised. In one of the worst cases of data loss, Massachusetts’ South Shore Hospital reported the data loss of over 800,000 patient files from their systems this year— 14 years’ worth of records. These records included patients’ full names, birthdays, addresses, phone numbers, driver’s license numbers, SIN numbers, medical record numbers, bank account and credit card information, as well as diagnoses and treatments. South Shore Hospital referred to this loss as only “a small subset,” prompting negative reactions from many victims involved, but the dark reality is that there just isn’t a lot that can be done.
Another notable online heist this year came when hackers managed to expose the e-mails of online iPad users; some of these victims included government officials, military members, and the Department of Defense’s advanced research team.
Wireless internet created an entirely new problem: Wi-Fi attacks. Open-access Wi-Fi points are becoming a huge problem. These free Wi-Fi points appear in airports, along train track routes, and even inside local Starbucks cafés. Because they’re open to everyone, experienced hackers can pose as coffee drinkers reading newspapers online while easily downloading banking information from the computer across from them. The new iPads, which are like portable Wi-Fi stations, are prime targets.
One new e-mail scam this year involves false e-mails that appear to be from a friend or family member, claiming the sender is stranded at an airport and needs financial assistance to get tickets home. Another new strategy is to embed malicious code into the e-mail itself, so a user needs only to open the e-mail to get scammed; no reading of material, external links, or attachments needed. Spam filters and antivirus programs have their metaphorical hands full trying to keep up with the new technology.
One thing that can be expected, at least, is a “worm.” Every year, antivirus software producers prepare for the possibility of a dreaded worm. It’s like the computer equivalent to a pandemic. Worms are viruses that don’t need to attach themselves to any programs; rather than stealing information from a computer, they can corrupt entire networks of computers, a sort of mass infestation virus that networks and copies itself to new networks wherever it finds them.
This year’s surprise was Stuxnet, which became the first virus to affect industrial control mechanisms. Stuxnet not only impacted computers, it impacted nuclear power plants, dams, water treatment facilities, and factories in 155 countries. Stuxnet did the most damage in Iran, Indonesia, and India.
Another surprise this year was the massive hike in “scareware” programs. Scareware means fake antivirus, or spyware, programs that are actually malicious– a cruel and ironic take on Trojan or program viruses. 40 percent of all false antivirus programs to date were created this year alone. That’s a scary number, but more terrifying is the thought of how they’re downloaded. While some scareware viruses market themselves through traditional pop-ups or advertisements, the growing trend is for cold-callers— sometimes the hackers themselves— to call victims and deliver a presentation by phone, asking ‘customers’ to buy the ‘product.’
This brings us to 2010’s biggest threat: smishing. Online users usually know the term “phishing,” which refers to e-mail-related scams. The term has been around since the original “Nigerian charity donation” warnings. E-mail hosts have long since armed themselves with spam security, such as filters, e-mail address blocking, and virus scans to attachments. It’s becoming harder and harder to scam through e-mails alone. That’s where “smishing” comes in. It stands for SMS text messages. That’s right: viruses can also be downloaded onto cell phones. With many consumers now equipped with Blackberries and smart phones, it’s a whole new world.
Hackers can set up an automated dialing system, which will obtain phone numbers from anywhere in a specific region or area code. The dialing system can also call these numbers with an automated message, another type of scam now labeled “vishing,” or voice message phishing. They often work the same way as regular e-mail scams: the victim receives a call or text message claiming the victim must renew their bank card or make some sort of deposit. The messages then ask that personal information be keyed into the phone, claiming to be from a telephone banking service. Phone numbers can also be obtained from previous victims’ contact lists, so phone scams can grow exponentially. Worse, numbers can be obtained from the banks or credit unions themselves, once victims give the hackers access by handing over the required personal information.
Holiday-related variations on phishing, smishing, and online data losses are appearing now. “Spoofing,” malicious e-mails and websites that look like more popular legitimate sites, are increasing. For example, PayPal.com, a trusted online banking transaction site used a lot for internet shopping, is warning customers to stay away from its malicious duplicate PayPa1.com. (The number 1 is nearly identical to the letter ‘l’ in some computer fonts.) Consumers looking for some extra holiday spending money are also falling victim to false work-from-home typing jobs.
There are two parts to these scams: in the first, victims must provide personal information to get the job. In the other part, once ‘signed up,’ victims type up what look like numbers, business reports, or bank statements, but are actually facilitating money laundering, even unknowingly withdrawing money from their own bank accounts. Even worse, victims are sometimes charged by police because, however unknowingly, they have participated in a crime!
Luckily, even with all these scams and viruses floating around, there are ways for consumers to protect themselves. McAfree, a popular security software publisher, mentioned some seasonal scams to avoid: charity phishing, false e-mail banking, malicious holiday e-cards, fake invoices, fake requests on social networks, holiday-themed downloads such as screensavers, identity theft from shopping sites, and even the theft of entire laptops come up during the winter season.
Consumers must also remember that a cell phone is a form of computer. Many cell phones now have internet surfing capabilities, where consumers can check e-mails, social networks, online shops, and search engines. Some smart phones even run mobile browsers, such as Safari in the new iPhone 4. However miniature they appear on the screen, these are real browsers, and malicious webpages can still appear, downloading viral contents or uploading personal information. McAfree warns consumers to watch out for any open Wi-Fi networks, even if the browser in question is a mobile phone.
Meanwhile, some nations are taking action. The European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) is testing cyber defense teams in 21 participating European Union nations. The EU has already set up a Cyber Crime task force in Europol, along with a Cyber Crime Training and Education Group. ENISA hopes this will be the first of many cybercrime force tests, and is planning to run joint exercises with the US or NATO.
The best way to avoid scams is to be educated. Online shoppers should price check everything carefully; some products have labels such as “the lowest price” on them, which are simply not true. Shoppers should also be wary of fine print, as some online shops have costly return policies. Always check site security before making an online payment; a secure site should have a web address which begins “https”. Once the transaction has been made, consumers should keep all the records of payment, and compare their bank statements to make sure the correct amount was charged.
This year, online scams and viruses swindled people through cell phones, iPads, and even power plants. It’s a problem that can be avoided by simple measures— disabling pop-ups and keeping a good spyware protection program, for starters. But scammers are a fast evolving breed, producing malicious content that can now infect users who use search engines, open e-mails, or answer a phone call. Some victims don’t even know they’ve been scammed. “Well,” says Jennifer, “it’s a big world. I guess it happens.”
It’s probably happening right now. SamTitlston SEO
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Free PDF Download I Read Your Ebook, and it Gave Me A Headache! - By Dr Don Yates Sr PhD |
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About the Author: Dr Don Yates Sr PhD RSS for Dr Don's articles - Visit Dr Don's website Author Internet Users Handbook, 2012, 2nd Edition (Full Version) - A Comprehensive Guide to Avoiding Scams Online While Doing Business. The handbook is also available Internet Users Handbook, 2012, 2nd (Free Articles and Downloads) Founder: The Internet Scams Anonymous (ISA) Groups Forex, Investment Adviser, Business Entrepreneur, Mentor, Coach, Adviser MBA, PhD Organizational Development and Human Behavior, Dissertation"Top Performers" Former US Navy (enlisted and officer) 17 years, 2 sons in Desert Storm Founding President/CEO/Broker La Jolla Newport Financial, Procomp Computer Services, Inc and Investment Quality Real Estate ((IQ), La Jolla California and Incline Village (Lake Tahoe), Nevada 1/1/1981. Bootstrapped $137 into $15 million plus. International Financial Adviser/Consultant for business, commercial and real estate development Top Civilian for Aircraft Maintenance on the Staff of Commander US Pacific Fleet. Business Entrepreneur, Founder, Chairman, Director, CEO, President of a dozen successful ventures since age 8 Business Adviser, Mentor and Coach for start-up and existing growth companies. Click here to visit Dr Don's website. Inet Users Hbk - Chapter 7 Inet Users Hbk - Chapter 11 Inet Users Hbk - Chapter 8 Inet Users Hbk - Chapter 14 How Have You Prepared 1 |
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