Monday, December 1, 2008

Fraud Flash for the week of December 1, 2008

Dec. 1, 2008
'Perfect storm' Conditions line up for identity theft
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_11108752?source=most_emailed
From 8.5 million to 11 million U.S. consumers become victims of identity theft each year, depending on the estimate you use, said Levin, the former director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.

Phishing Attacks Set New rerecords During September-October 2008
http://www.spamfighter.com/News-11380-Phishing-Attacks-Set-New-rerecords-During-September-October-2008.htm
A researcher at internet security company, Cyveillance, claims that in the past 60 days (September-October), phishing attacks have set new records in terms of frequency and volume, as reported by darkreading on November 17, 2008.

iDefense - Phishing E-mails Become More Sophisticated & Stealthier
http://www.spamfighter.com/News-11378-iDefense-Phishing-E-mails-Become-More-Sophisticated-Stealthier.htm
According to the statistics given by the company, within a span of six seconds, a new malware gets ready to be installed on the system. Once installed, it becomes extremely difficult to detect it, which, in turn, makes way for a spear-phishing attack.

OSU’s Students & Staff Targeted by Phishers
http://www.spamfighter.com/News-11379-OSUs-Students-Staff-Targeted-by-Phishers.htm
The spoofed e-mail asked the recipients to log-on to a fake website to catch the current news and information about OSU and directed users to the virtual webmail page of the university. As soon as the page is logged-on, the victims were directed to Ohio State Newark web page. This page is utilized to archive the passwords and usernames of the visitors that can be sold to the criminals.