Pinboard (guardiantech)

Beware of US-based tech support scams >> Malwarebytes Unpacked

guardiantech — 2014-08-11T19:57:31+00:00

Most people associate tech support scams (AKA the fake Microsoft support call) with technicians sitting in a crowded and buzzing boiler room somewhere offshore. Indeed all of the tech support scams we have tracked so far were with companies located either in Mumbai, Kolkata or elsewhere in India. But last month, we stumbled upon fake warning pages urging users to call a number for ‘emergency tech support’. When we rang the number, we were surprised to hear that the technician sounded American. It turned out that their company was based in ‘the sunshine state‘ of Florida, USA.

The FTC walloped a number of Indian companies doing this, so the American ones shouldn't expect to last long.

How scammers turn Google Maps into fantasy land >> Businessweek

guardiantech — 2014-03-29T21:54:18+00:00

Dune Lawrence on how a Seattle resident created a fake Secret Service office by making one call and two changes on two websites:

The stunt highlights the downside of Google’s grand experiment in crowdsourcing, one that’s felt mostly by small businesses providing things such as locksmith services, carpet cleaning, and home repairs, according to Seely and other critics.
It’s cheap and easy to game the system, putting up false listings with virtual numbers that forward to a main office or call centers, according to Dan Austin, who has been trying to get Google to fix its spam-listing problem for years. Austin, who lives in Olympia, Wash., likes to call himself a “geo specialist” because of all the time he spends on Google Maps. The company promised four years ago to fix problems with verification, Austin pointed out in a recent blog post.

The comments are educational, especially the one from "struggling locksmith". All redolent of this story from January 2014.

Malware writers, fraudsters target gamers with fake GTA 5 serials >> HOTforSecurity

guardiantech — 2013-09-19T08:54:25+00:00

A week ago, the Bitdefender Laboratories in France also discovered that impatient gamers were infected with another Trojan while trying to download free GTA kits on torrents and peer-to-peer networks.
Users are advised to disregard GTA copies “accidentally” leaked on the Internet, as they are probably fake, leading to fraudulent or malicious websites. Bitdefender recommends gamers keep their security solution and other software updated to avoid malware infections, phishing and fraud.

A collateral cost of "free"?

How a career con man led a federal sting that cost Google $500m >> Wired.com

guardiantech — 2013-05-15T21:51:07+00:00

Jake Pearson, in a fantastic piece of journalism:

Whitaker recorded a phone conversation with his California Google rep, walking them through the website in real time while explaining how the scam worked. He deliberately showed how PVD was a conduit for the rogue online pharmacies, confirming that his rep was following him every step of the way. At one point, the rep asked if the rogue sites had been approved by PharmacyChecker. Of course Whitaker admitted that they hadn’t been, but it didn’t matter; PVD never lost its approval, and the illegal sites were allowed to continue to operate.
The investigation, the agents decided, was now complete.

So many of the details in here are simply astonishing, especially if you've ever bought pharmaceuticals or similar online from dodgy sites - or found them through a famous search engine.

Suspected multi-million dollar Bitcoin pyramid scheme shuts down, investors revolt >> The Verge

guardiantech — 2012-08-29T20:33:32+00:00

Remember pirateat40, the e-currency banker we speculated could be the Bernie Madoff of Bitcoin? Well, it looks like he owes a lot of people money. On August 17, pirateat40 announced the closure of Bitcoin Savings & Trust, a virtual hedge fund that promised to pay high rewards to investors who parked their Bitcoins there. Ten days later, investors are still waiting to get paid and pirateat40 is on the defensive. "When I know, you will," says his away message in the fund's official chat room, an effort to quiet the loudening chorus of, "WHERE ARE MY BITCOINS?"

The "hedge fund" was promising returns of 6.75% per month; all you had to do was hand over your untraceable digital money. What could possibly go wrong? Pretty much puts the lie to the idea that Bitcoin users consist only of the brainy elite, anyway. Meanwhile: "loudening"?

Massive profits fuelling rogue antivirus market >> Brian Krebs's Security Fix

guardiantech — 2011-06-23T20:09:21+00:00

"TrafficConverter.biz was dismantled on Nov. 29, 2008, most likely because the same domain was referenced deep inside the guts of the Conficker worm, a family of malware that is estimated to have infected at least 10 million Microsoft Windows systems.
"Prior to site's demise, security researchers managed to snag a copy of the database for the TrafficConverter affiliate program. While that data set is incomplete, the information available on the top-earning affiliates helps explain why so many consumers are reporting infections from rogue anti-virus products: Successful affiliates are making money hand over fist with these programs."

Confessions of a computer repairman >> PC Pro

guardiantech — 2011-05-14T20:39:14+00:00

Confessions as in scams, not nudge-nudge. Such as: "Although the repairmen we spoke to stressed the importance of setting an upfront price with customers, they also explained that rogue outfits are more than happy to zealously undertake costly repair work, even if the final price outweighs the value of the computer.
"The result, when the customer goes back to collect the computer, is chronic “bill shock”. Since the work has been done as per agreement, the cowboys claim they can withhold the machine until payment has been made.“We hear about it a lot, mostly with motherboards or laptop screens that are installed at an inflated price – perhaps up to £180 instead of about £100,” said Finlay. “As the work has been done, the customer effectively has to pay for it, even if it costs more than the laptop is worth. People should agree a price upfront and get in touch if there are any high charges, but not everyone does.”

And those aren't even the worst scams.

Osama Shoot down video scam spreads on Facebook >> Naked Security

guardiantech — 2011-05-04T05:21:54+00:00

Like night following day.

Olive Garden food photo tagged you on Facebook? It’s a viral scam >> Naked Security

guardiantech — 2011-04-11T21:13:58+00:00

We make that two new scams circulating on Facebook that day.