Internet Scams And Hoaxes | Cyber Criminals Most Wanted

New Sophisticated Nigerian Money Scam

By now we’ve all had at least one email from a relative of a Nigerian Prince, asking for help secretly transferring millions of dollars out of U.S. Bank Accounts. Scams like this are pretty easy to spot and frankly anyone who would fall for something like that is a complete idiot. Sorry if that offends anyone, but seriously, come on…

But the nature of the game the scammers play is changing – this weekend I was almost a victim of one of the most elaborate money scams I’ve ever come across. In fact, it was one tiny detail that had I […]

By cyber|August 21st, 2013|Internet Scams and Hoaxes|0 Comments

A Brief Look At The History Of Internet Scams

Cyberwar! Cyber attack!

These alert words are now part of our daily lives as the press loves to blast them across the headlines. It’s all about the present day dangers of computer technology and it goes back to the earlier internet scams that appeared on the web. Let’s take a look at the fundamentals of what those scams were and how they apply to today.

There are five or so major categories of internet scams that arose on the web and believe it or not they’re the same categories that were once pervasive in the offline world. […]

By cyber|August 13th, 2013|Internet Scams and Hoaxes|0 Comments

P-P-P-Powerbook: The Conman Gets Conned

Many have attempted it, and few have been successful: the reverse con.

For those who don’t know what that is, it is the act of taking what was intended to be an Internet Scam or Hoax against you, and turning it around on the perpetrator. It is a difficult, risky business that I wouldn’t recommend for anyone. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t look at – and appreciate – a case where it worked.

The Powerbook

Way back in 2004 there was a lack of understanding from many people about the threats of cyber security. Email scams […]

By Donald Garber|August 11th, 2013|Internet Scams and Hoaxes|0 Comments

International Internet Scam Hotspots

Last Year, Hundreds of Thousands of individuals learned the hard way that if something sounds to good to be true, it probably is.

The number of Internet Scams documented each year is on the rise and some victims bear considerable financial losses.

What should people look out for? Take a look at the Infographic below to learn more:

By cyber|August 11th, 2013|Internet Scams and Hoaxes|0 Comments

Texas man charged with running $4.5 million Bitcoin Ponzi scheme

Some promises are too good to be true. The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a Texas man with operating an illegal Ponzi scheme using the virtual currency Bitcoin in place of dollars. Trendon T. Shavers took in 700,000 Bitcoins from investors, the SEC alleges, through his unregistered fund Bitcoin Savings & Trust while operating with the ironic alias “pirateat40.” The Bitcoins were worth $4.5 million at the time but would be worth $60 million on the market today due to the virtual currency’s appreciation.

Shavers told investors he could make them a 7 percent return on their investment by arbitraging […]

By cyber|July 26th, 2013|Internet Scams and Hoaxes|0 Comments

Cyber Criminals Launch Royal Baby Scam

Fraudsters have attempted to cash in on two major news stories by sending out bogus emails appearing to be updates but that are actually a scam to steal people’s bank details.

Millions of people have been targeted as the death toll rose following the train disaster in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

They launched their campaign just a day after sophisticated criminals attempted to cash in on the birth of Prince George of Cambridge.

A “steady flow” of messages designed to look like emails from CNN have been sent out this week, according to analysts at web security firm Appriver.

In each case, the fraudsters […]

By cyber|July 26th, 2013|Internet Scams and Hoaxes|0 Comments

From fake dead girlfriends to Nigerian princes, the Internet loves a hoax

In a world where, on any given day, someone is forwarding that email that says Bill Gates will share his Microsoft fortune with you, is it really that hard to believe Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o had no clue that dead “girlfriend” Lennay Kekua — whom he allegedly knew only from the Internet — didn’t really exist?

That Microsoft free-money hoax has been circulating cyberspace since at least 1997, yet humanity’s Fox Mulder-like willingness to believe the most ridiculously obvious bucket of horse hockey isn’t to be discounted.

And as P.T. Barnum reminded us long before the Internet existed, there are plenty […]

By cyber|July 22nd, 2013|Internet Scams and Hoaxes|0 Comments

Dont Fall for Internet Hoaxes

Sharks on the freeway, the Statue of Liberty being swallowed up by gigantic waves, a statue of Ronald McDonald floating inside a flooded Virginia Beach restaurant — all made headlines on social media during last year’s Hurricane Sandy, none of these jaw-dropping images were true.

Neither was the photo of three soldiers standing next to the Tomb of the Unknowns as torrential rains fell from the sky.

The image was shared more than 53,000 times and liked more than 43,000 times on Facebook during last year’s natural disaster. Thousands of people looking for a bright spot in the news, left uplifting comments […]

By cyber|July 22nd, 2013|Internet Scams and Hoaxes|0 Comments

49 Hoaxes People Actually Believed

John Green looks at some of history’s greatest hoaxes including “Balloon Boy” (the boy, by the way is now in a metal band), “Lonelygirl15″ and “War of the Worlds”

By cyber|July 22nd, 2013|Internet Scams and Hoaxes|0 Comments