(This is the text of my weekly Loose Wire Service column, syndicated to newspapers like The Jakarta Post. My thanks to Joe Wein for the information that made this column possible.) A lot of people think that online scams happen to other people, but they don’t. They could happen to you. Or a relative, new … Read more
Three men have been arrested in the UK and Finland following an investigation into internet fraud. The three are a motley bunch, according to The Sunday Times: a 63-year-old from England, a 28-year-old from Scotland and a 19-year-old from Finland. Together they are alleged to have formed a gang called M00P. They are accused of … Read more
Until now, most spammers sent their stuff through open relays — Internet-connected computers that were either unprotected, or else had been compromised by viruses or trojans into sending the spam without the owner being aware. But that is changing, says AppRiver, and it has big implications for how spammers work and may render useless today’s … Read more
Good piece today by my WSJ colleague Cassell Bryan-Low on the Douglas Havard case which I mentioned a week or so back: As Identity Theft Moves Online, Crime Rings Mimic Big Business (subscription only, I suspect): Most identity theft still occurs offline, through stolen cards or rings of rogue waiters and shop clerks in cahoots with … Read more
AlienCamel, the email service that does a pretty good job of keeping out spam and viruses I’ve mentioned in the past, is offering a year’s Clean Email in return for feedback: We are looking for 50 special users who are willing to give us some feedback about our email service from time to time. In … Read more