AUSTRALIA - A South Australian woman narrowly avoided a complete financial disaster after falling victim to a sophisticated business email compromise (BEC) scam that led to the loss of over $800,000. Authorities have since managed to recover a significant portion of the stolen funds, shedding light on the growing threat of cyber fraud in real estate transactions. The victim, who had been in the process of purchasing a property, received what appeared to be a legitimate … [Read more...]
Large-Scale Fraud Campaign Utilizes Over 700 Domains to Sell Fraudulent Tickets
CHANDLER, AR - Authorities have discovered that a group behind a widespread internet scam – dubbed “Ticket Heist” – has been utilizing over 700 domain names, registered over the course of over two years, in order to sell fraudulent tickets and hotel accommodations to the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. The operation, which researchers at threat intelligence company QuoIntelligence say seems to primarily target Russian-speaking individuals, has not only offered … [Read more...]
“Prolific Puma” Created 75k Unique Domain Names Since April 2022 Used for Scams
SANTA CLARA, CA - Researchers from security vendor Infoblox have uncovered an actor known as “Prolific Puma” that has been revealed as having provided link shortening services for countless cyber criminals for a span of time of at least four years or longer, an act that has likely been responsible for an immense number of scams targeting innocent people. As an example of how Prolific Puma lives up to the "prolific” part of their name, the actor reportedly … [Read more...]
Hundreds of Domains Being Reported in Scam for Free Federal COVID-19 Test Kits
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The federal government launched a new website in January to help distribute free at-home COVID-19 test kits to U.S. citizens; no sooner did this website go live, so did numerous copycat websites, none of which were legitimate, but many sporting very similar URLs in an attempt to run a scam on unsuspecting visitors. In mid-January, the Biden Administration announced a free COVID-19 test kit program, with the kits being distributed via the U.S. Postal … [Read more...]
Amazingly Convincing Facebook Phishing Scam Takes Place on Facebook.com Itself
PALM BEACH, FL – I have been reviewing and writing about email phishing scams for years and I have seen a ton of them, from outright laughable in their easy discoverability to incredibly convincing, but this latest one I must write about because its one of the most convincing I have ever seen, and it has been happening for over a year now. I know it well as I once fell for it. The reason this is one of the most convincing I’ve ever seen is because unlike most phishing … [Read more...]
Highly Coordinated Attack Impacts Twitter Accounts of World’s Most Famous People
WEST PALM BEACH, FL - On July 15, 2020, several verified Twitter accounts of famous people and companies were taken over in a security breach, including Apple, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Barack Obama and others. Hackers then published tweets from these accounts soliciting donations via Bitcoin. For example, one tweet read: “We are giving back to our community. We support Bitcoin and we believe you should too. All Bitcoin sent to our address below will be sent … [Read more...]
It’s Only A Matter of Time Until You Need to Be Licensed to Operate A Web Server
PALM BEACH, FL – I have been thinking about this off and on for a few years now, but I have never really posted or written about it. That is because it is an awful prediction that I hate the idea of, but I think it is going to eventually happen. Here it goes…. I predict that to operate a web server sometime in the near future, you will be required to have a license, or have passed a basic course in IT security or Cybersecurity intrusion mitigation. Not at the single site … [Read more...]
Feds Take Down First Coronavirus Scam Site
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The world’s first web site taken down of a fraudulent Coronavirus scam has taken place – and in record time. On Sunday, the US Department of Justice announced it had shut down a website in connection with COVID-19, the disease caused by 2019 Novel Coronavirus. The site, CoronavirusMedicalKit.com, promised visitors a free vaccine from the World Health Organization (WHO) and shoppers needed only to pay shipping costs of $4.95 to receive their cure, … [Read more...]
This AMEX Email Phishing Scam Wants You Homeless & Poor, With A Zero FICO Score
PALM BEACH, FL - Nothing could better destroy your holiday spirit than a compromise of your most secure personal information in the form of a phishing expedition. Here is one of the latest email scams circulating what is probably hundreds of thousands of inboxes, just in time for Christmas. Here is how it all plays out: You receive an email which appears to be from American Express, but it isn't, it's from some scrupulous hacker hiding somewhere behind a computer who is … [Read more...]
Edmonton Police Seize Three Canadian Domain Names from Fake Job Scam
PALM BEACH, FL – Three more domain names have vanished from the Internet due to a fake job scam; something frequently being used to steal money from unsuspecting victims. According to Canadian Yahoo News, Edmonton police have seized three Internet domains as part of an investigation involving fake job ads posted on the employment site Indeed.com. Police say the scam has cost victims over $240k. Visitors of the Canadian sites (which were not disclosed) are now … [Read more...]
Robo Callers, Phone Spoofing, Auto Dialers; It’s No Longer Annoying, It’s Disruptive
NEW YORK, NY – Everyone gets them - and it’s starting to go from nuisance, to disruptive. Robocalls, Spammers and other automated dialers; it’s beginning to actually go from annoying to interfering with my day to day operations. They come in on both my telephones and mobile device. Constantly, all day and it is becoming far more than a nuisance to the point where the FCC is going to have to start getting more aggressive on this practice. Isn’t that what they do? I mean, … [Read more...]
FedEx Email Phishing Scam Attempt: Not That Clear What Actual Motive Is
NEW YORK, NY – From time to time I like to point out some phishing scams that are out there in hopes to help some people not fall for these email-traps; today is one of those day. This email stuck out not for its sophistication but for more of its non-sophistication, and recurring delivery. For instance, I’ve received these at least 4 times in the last couple of days. This scam pictured below is trying to capture FedEx users regarding the non-delivery of their package; a … [Read more...]
Writing on the Wall: LinkedIn to Become Haven for Spam, Scams and Solicitations
NEW YORK, NY – As the title suggests, the writing is on the wall for the demise of LinkedIn, a service Microsoft purchased in 2016 for more than $26 billion. According to the services “About page”, the social network boosts over 562 million registered users; that’s about 100 million more than it had when Microsoft acquired it, so on the surface, the site appears to be growing. But what will happen when the service is completely overridden with Spam, Scams, and Solicitations, … [Read more...]
Are Phone Caller ID Systems Getting Better at Recognising Robocall Scammers?
NEW YORK, NY – These days you can't have a phone without receiving automated calls, prerecorded messages, telemarketers, and other nefarious solicitations and scams from often-times spoofed phone numbers. According to CNBC, Americans have already received over 16 billion robocalls so far this year (2018). Most annoying as of late are calls which are received from seemingly local phones which use spoofed numbers to appear local near the target (on the same exchange - first … [Read more...]
Be Prepared for Clever Scams & Tactics
I often write about security, privacy and other important personal safety issues such as being and keeping aware of security vulnerabilities, email threats and phishing scams..... It is often very simple precautions you can take which will save you a lifetime of headaches. With this type of material in mind, I received the following tips by email over the weekend from a family member and they are seem like they are worth sharing (rather than just deleting) as they will keep … [Read more...]