Tag archive: scam

Originally mentioned by Inside Facebook yesterday, scam artists are playing into the negative reaction to Facebook Timeline and convincing Facebook users to provide access to user data. The scammers use applications on Facebook to offer users a method to revert the Facebook Timeline changes and go back to the old profile. The applications use titles like “Deactivate your FB Timeline” and can be found easily through the Facebook… Read More

Another day, another scam, only the latest to come to light has been described by Intego’s Mac Security Blog as a “vast” phishing attack comprising a “well-crafted” email. Targeting anyone with an Apple ID, the bogus email, which claims to come from appleid@id.apple.com, informs recipients that their billing information records are out of date. “Failure to update your records will result in account termination,” it says. Unlike so many scam… Read More

Yahoo was awarded $610 million by a federal district court judge in New York earlier this week in a judgment against spammers who operated a fake Yahoo lottery email scheme. The scheme involved sending emails to people telling them they’d hit the jackpot in a lottery supposedly run by Yahoo. Though the defendants in the case were not named, AP reports that the original lawsuit, which was filed three years ago, alleged that a group of Nigerian… Read More

Earlier this week, we shared a horrifying story told by an Airbnb user whose apartment was burglarized after renting out her apartment using Airbnb. The site allows users to rent rooms or entire houses and apartments to short-term guests, and was valued at one billion dollars.  To catch you up with the situation EJ, as she is known, rented out her San Francisco apartment for one week to a fellow Airbnb user. When EJ returned home she found her… Read More

News of Airbnb’s impressive series of fundraising has been making the rounds, as well it should. The alternative travel site secured $112 million, boosting it to a $1.3 billion valuation. Airbnb has been one of Silicon Valley’s startup darlings, stealing attention with its plans for global expansion as well as its quick rise to the top of the online travel game. The company has had a pretty storybook beginning, with nary a complaint lodged… Read More

Facebook’s no stranger to scams, and a new one hit the site a few days ago that’s been spreading like wildfire – and bringing malware with it. This particularl scam, true to form, comes in the form of a wall post advertising a video that tries to tempt your weaker, sicker side. The link reads “This woman has a [sic] orgasm on a roller coaster! LOL,” and claims to show you the video in return for filling out a short survey. If you’re even… Read More

If you bank, shop or book hotels online, it’s likely you were one of the many who received an e-mail this morning warning you of a security breach. After a hack involving marketing provider Epsilon, major companies like Chase, Barclays Bank, US Bancorp, Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Best Buy, LL Bean, Home Shopping Network, and TiVo have all released statements asking customers and subscribers to be wary of possible phishing schemes on the horizon.… Read More

New Hampshire's Asu Pala has been handed an 82-month prison term for a scam that involved installing unwanted dialer software on PCs, then using the software to infect PCs in Germany and call premium telephone numbers. The scam earned Pala some $8 million from 2003 to 2007—authorities originally got turned on to Pala when he bought a second Lamborghini sports car using cash. Pala, a Turkish immigrant, ran a small Massachusetts… Read More

We told you a couple of days ago about an eBay auction selling the identify of underground graffiti artist Banksy, and it appears that the listing has been pulled. We contacted the seller to ask for any details on the auction, and were given this reply: “I spent 3 years finding the answer. I was paid off, now I can tell you nothing. All I can give you is this photograph.” Followed by the photo below. Here's the same photo with… Read More

Websense Security Labs have discovered a new scam in China that’s ingenious. Not only does it hit unsuspecting victims in two ways, it uses search engine optimization to make the fakers seem legitimate. The first move is for the criminals to post real company names like Sina and Taobao, but with fake phone numbers to BBS. This establishes the “legitimacy” of these numbers associated with real companies, and gets them… Read More

You know those annoying Nigerian scam e-mails we’ve all had? Or perhaps the eBay scams where you’re paid by check from somewhere, only to discover too late that the check is a fake. Well, payback has happened.   A series of co-ordinated raids in the US, Canada, Britain and Nigeria last week led to a number of arrests, following a long sting operation. In the UK alone, over $17 million in checks were seized, while worldwide… Read More