Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 15

Thread: Scary: Meth addicts' other habit: Online theft

  1. #1
    Senior Member genXer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Posts
    252

    Exclamation Scary: Meth addicts' other habit: Online theft

    Check this out - scary, but good reading - by good I mean how to watch out for yourselves and organizations, not to try out. Notice that what can be done to help prevent this from happening to you and yours requires a little bit of knowledge, common sense, execution and regular reviews of what you are doing:

    Link: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/in...ne-theft_x.htm

    Summary from the story:
    How meth addicts contribute to Cybercrime

    Methamphetamine users and traffickers often form localized identity-theft rings, in which addicts take on defined roles based on boldness and skills. Local identity-theft scams often revolve around use of computers and the Internet — and increasingly involve foreign cybercrime groups.

    How meth addicts collect data:

    Dumpster diving
    Businesses that don't shred discarded paperwork are prime targets, especially financial firms, customer service call centers, car-rental agencies, large retail chain stores and hotels.

    Mailbox theft
    Residents who leave outgoing letters for their mail carrier to pick up are vulnerable. Thieves go after credit and checking account information. Incoming mail also is sought after, especially credit card balance transfer promotions.

    Car break-ins
    Driver's licenses, credit cards, cameras and laptop computers left in parked cars are prime targets. Credit cards are often used quickly at casinos or convenience stores. Laptops holding client or employee databases are highly prized.

    How meth addicts use stolen data:

    Creating bogus checks Using software such as Versa-Check, addicts can create checks imprinted with a stolen checking account number and a random name, backed up by fake ID.

    Manipulating bank accounts
    Addicts can change a billing address, order new debit and credit cards, raise credit limits and make cash transfers to other accounts under their control.

    Selling bank account access to cybercrooks
    Meth rings pitch bank account access to foreign crime groups looking to launder funds. Cash is extracted at the local level, then routed to the foreign group.

    Overseas connections:
    Global cybercrime groups use e-mail phishing scams, viruses, spyware and database theft to steal credit card numbers and Social Security numbers and to hijack online accounts. Local theft rings help them cash in.

    Communications
    Local theft rings buy, sell and trade identity data and negotiate other ventures with global groups via private instantmessaging lines, called Internet Relay Chat channels.

    The marketplace:
    Daily transactions: Local and global rings sell to, and buy from, the market for identity profiles containing account access details and other personal data. Example: A local ring can buy a full profile of a U.S. citizen — supplied by a global group — for $200.

    Partnerships:
    Local rings can help global groups launder hijacked funds through local bank accounts. Example: $2,000 in stolen money is transferred to an online account controlled by a local ring. A street addict withdraws the cash. $500 is routed back to the global group; $1,500 is payment to the local ring.

    Payments
    Many deals culminate with cash changing hands. Most often, cash gets wired via Western Union or online payment services, such as PayPal or Neteller, which bypass restrictions on bank-tobank transfers.
    People trying to escape reality, causing others pain.
    \"We\'re the middle children of history.... no purpose or place. We have no Great War, no Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. We\'ve all been raised by television to believe that one day we\'ll all be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars -- but we won\'t. And we\'re learning slowly that fact. And we\'re very, very pissed off.\" - Tyler (Brad Pitt) Fight Club.

  2. #2
    Very good article. I was going to make a joke about how your summary of the USA Today (what I call McPaper) was probably almost the whole article.

    Yeah, scarey.

  3. #3
    AO's MMA Fanatic! Computernerd22's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Miami, FL
    Posts
    795
    How meth addicts contribute to Cybercrime
    LOL their was just an epidsode on television about this last week. Cold case.

  4. #4
    Senior Member genXer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Posts
    252
    Very good article. I was going to make a joke about how your summary of the USA Today (what I call McPaper) was probably almost the whole article.
    Heh - yes - I probably should have stated "Extreme-Summary" or "Summary+" - kinda in college - I would start highlighting all of the "important" stuff and realize I ended up highlighting damn near the whole text... too bad I used that black highlighter. Heh.

    LOL their was just an epidsode on television about this last week. Cold case.
    Heh - well this way they can make sure that the people engaged in these activities see what the general public now knows, and then the criminals can change their methodology in confidence.
    \"We\'re the middle children of history.... no purpose or place. We have no Great War, no Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. We\'ve all been raised by television to believe that one day we\'ll all be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars -- but we won\'t. And we\'re learning slowly that fact. And we\'re very, very pissed off.\" - Tyler (Brad Pitt) Fight Club.

  5. #5
    Ninja Code Monkey
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Washington State
    Posts
    1,027
    Yeah, they had a similar article in the communications of the acm mag this month.
    "When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes." - Erasmus
    "There is no programming language, no matter how structured, that will prevent programmers from writing bad programs." - L. Flon
    "Mischief my ass, you are an unethical moron." - chsh
    Blog of X

  6. #6
    AO's Fluffy Bunny cdkj's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Posts
    1,236
    Wow that is scary


    And to think i thought all meth addicts were cooks
    I had to google 'jfgi' to see what it meant. The irony is overwhelming.

  7. #7
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    16
    Great read,

    One thing I always love is the deniability from companies when there might have been a data breach.


    Neiman Marcus spokeswoman Ginger Reeder says no records of sensitive customer information are printed out at the call center. If any such information made it into the trash, "It would be a breach of company policy and an isolated incident," says Reeder.
    Convergys spokeswoman Lauri Roderick disputes Mary's account. The Cincinnati-based company has a "strict clean-desk policy" that requires shredding of any sensitive paperwork, she says. And Sprint customer-service calls, she says, were never handled by the 1,200 workers at the Mill Woods facility, one of 14 in Canada. "We're confident there has been no breach in security of our customers' data," Roderick says.
    Time lost will never be found again.

  8. #8
    Master-Jedi-Pimps0r & Moderator thehorse13's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Washington D.C. area
    Posts
    2,885
    What's actually more scary is that this activity isn't specific to meth addicts. The McArticle (love that) doesn't state this though.

    The true root cause is motivation and the understanding that opportunity exists simply because most people aren't concerned with creative ways to feed bad habbits.
    Our scars have the power to remind us that our past was real. -- Hannibal Lecter.
    Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful. -- John Wooden

  9. #9
    AO's MMA Fanatic! Computernerd22's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Miami, FL
    Posts
    795
    One thing I always love is the deniability from companies when there might have been a data breach.
    Of course they are going to deny it. They do not want the general public knowing about a data breach within their company. They know it will HURT if not, kill business. 90% of companies that have been breached (data migration, data lost etc...) go to the wall within 12-24 months. Theirs an old saying in which I live by

    silence is golden.

  10. #10
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    16
    Of course they are going to deny it. They do not want the general public knowing about a data breach within their company
    Not true, although some companies will deny any data breaches until faced with the legalities of the situation, most companies will not when faced with media and public relations. This changes when the a PR situation transfers into crisis management at which point your policies regarding those PR situations no longer apply.

    When there are small breaches in the security of data, as quoted in the article, most companies will try and save face by applying an isotropy of modeling. Lets look at the quotes I used from the article.

    Neiman Marcus spokeswoman Ginger Reeder says no records of sensitive customer information are printed out at the call center. If any such information made it into the trash, "It would be a breach of company policy and an isolated incident," says Reeder.
    This is nothing more than good standard PR situational management. If the company has in place policy to prevent such incidents from occurring, quote that policy. Then relate that such situations are rare and a breach of policy while never denying nor admitting the incident occurred.

    Convergys spokeswoman Lauri Roderick disputes Mary's account. The Cincinnati-based company has a "strict clean-desk policy" that requires shredding of any sensitive paperwork, she says. And Sprint customer-service calls, she says, were never handled by the 1,200 workers at the Mill Woods facility, one of 14 in Canada. "We're confident there has been no breach in security of our customers' data," Roderick says.
    PR situational management in this case is “deny, deny, deny” not a very good policy if you are not 100% positive that a data breach could not have occurred. If they should find security easily breached at this facility you now have a PR nightmare on your hands.

    They know it will HURT if not, kill business.
    In my experience it all depends on how the company handles the situation. If a company has a great reputation with there customers and the customers are loyal then there is no reason why the company cannot save itself from most situations. It all depends on the situation and how the situation is handled.

    90% of companies that have been breached (data migration, data lost etc...) go to the wall within 12-24 months.
    Do you have hard data to prove this if so I would like to see it. I have not seen any data that proves companies “go to the wall within 12-24 months”. As I said before it all depends on the situation and how the company handles that situation.
    Time lost will never be found again.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •