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A new alternative of the Storm worm has emerged, but it does not appear to be as well-designed as its older relative, according to computer security researchers.
The Storm worm first emerged in early 2007 and spread quickly, making it one of the most fruitful and widespread worms ever. Once it infected people's computers, the worm sent million upon millions of spam messages.
The Shadowserver Foundation, which tracks botnets, first received a sample of the new version of the worm on April 13, said Steven Adair, via instant message.
The worm was then reverse-engineered by the Honeypot Project, which studies intimidation on the Internet. The new worm was found to be based on the old code, but some of the elements that made Storm hard to disrupt were gone, according to a blog post from the organization.
The new Storm doesn't communicate using a peer-to-peer system, a decentralized way to have computers infected with the code communicate with each other and receive new spam commands. That may be because researchers have been effective in disrupting peer-to-peer botnets, Adair said.
The new Storm communicates via HTTP traffic, but it is programmed to receive instructions from one IP (Internet Protocol) address hosted by a server in the Netherlands. The ISP hosting that server has been contacted, Adair said.
Since it is receiving instructions from just one IP address, it means the new Storm may not last that long, Adair said. It is also not employing fast instability, which allows an administrator to quickly point a domain name to a new IP address, making it harder to shut down.
The new Storm "doesn't seem as flexible as the older version," Adair said.
It's not known how many computers may be infected with the new Storm. Computers are believed to be getting infected through drive-by downloads, where a Web site attacks a user's computer looking for software vulnerabilities in order to deliver malicious software.
Cpl. Shawn Bennett fixed one telephone scammer’s wagon on Tuesday morning. Evelyn Bedwell, 78, intimated she received a phone call from a man calling himself “James Lopez,” who claimed to be from Publisher’s Clearing House.
He told Bedwell that she had won $55,000; to collect the money, she needed to get a money transfer for $679.99 payable to “Lee Foyt, 116447 Boss Gaston Road, Sugarland, Tex., 74498.” Once she got the money transport, he said, she was to call 1-876-406-4120 and Lopez would send a “UPS” driver by the name of “James Washington” to collect it.
While Bennett and Reserve officer Chris Cecil were at Bedwell’s residence in the 200 block of Francis Street taking the details, the man called again. This time, Bennett picked up the phone – Bedwell had “just stepped out,” he said. Then he had some questions for the caller. Some rather pointed questions; the man hung up.
The officers let Bedwell know not to give the man any personal details, should he bother to call again.
An Internet search turned up a alike story involving the same address and phone number. This type of scam is a variant of the 419 e-mail scam.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a 43-year-old man, Adesina Muniru Aruna, for scam and recovered an array of local charms which the agency says the suppose used to hypnotise his victims.
Mr. Aruna told the commission upon his arrest that the five calabashes of black soap and liquid remedy found in his home aided him to defraud three Nigerians and a Dutch of a total sum of N18 million.
By bathing with the soap, Mr. Aruna’s victims became hypnotised and parted with their money willingly, he claimed.
A business said
The first victim, Rudulf Fleamer, supposedly got into a business deal with Mr. Aruna in which the latter was to supply the Dutchman, who runs a heavy metal company, Heavy Metals Trading BV Netherlands, with metal snippets from Nigeria; to be paid for in dollars.
The classic 419 scam was done across the Netherlands and Nigeria without any physical contact between the two parties. In all, Mr. Aruna allegedly gained a total sum of $94,000 from his victim.
Mr. Fleamer claims he was attracted by the mouth watering deal that Mr. Aruna offered; Mr. Aruna on the other hand claims that his good luck soap had charmed the Dutchman.
A Steel dealer said
Mr. Aruna supposedly carried on his trade by claiming to be a dealer in all kinds of metals. In addition to the deal with Mr. Fleamer, allegedly to supply a large quantity of stainless steel, magnesium ingot and magnesium cast, Mr. Aruna also swindled three Nigerians of about four million naira, having assured to sell them a large quantity of magnesium and battery dust.
Mr. Aruna told the EFCC that he used the proceeds from the scams to build a five- bedroom apartment in the border of Lagos, as well as purchase a car and another property in Ogun State.
The suppose, a father of five, was arrested in his home at Oju Ore, Sango-Ota, in Ogun State, and remains in the custody of the EFCC.
For years, the Nigerian government has persisted that it's cracking down on the infamous advance fee 419 scammers out there, but the scams continue. And, yes, they come from places other than Nigeria, but it actually has become something of an industry in parts of Nigeria. There are even songs derisive dumb Americans who fall for the scams, and Nigerian officials have also been known to blame the victims of such scams. Indeed, many (though, not all) of these scams do play on the victim's own greed, so there's some element of questioning just how much of a "victim" they really are. But what's astonishing is how totally taken in by these scams most victims are. In fact, there are stories of the victims of these scams who -- although being told that it's a complete scam -- still believe that they're just one step away from getting the stolen money owed to them.
So it's interesting to see that the US government has now convicted a Nigerian citizen of running such a scam. Actually, he used a single email address for over ten years (miklymyx@yahoo.com) and was able to induce lots of strangers to simply hand over money to him, promising to get them a fortune in return. What's amazing isn't just the convincing part, but the fact that he was able to use that one email address for so long so successfully.
Every time we see stories about people falling for Nigerian 419 scams -- including Harvard professors and Ronald Reagan's neuroscientist -- we're surprised that there are still people who fall for these types of scams. However, it seems these sorts of scams have worked for generations. There's a improbable book called Drake's Fortune, that covers an almost identical scam that was particularly successful for a small group of scammers about a century ago. Somehow, it seems likely that we'll still see people falling for these scams in another century as well.
So it's interesting to see that the US government has now convicted a Nigerian citizen of running such a scam. Actually, he used a single email address for over ten years (miklymyx@yahoo.com) and was able to induce lots of strangers to simply hand over money to him, promising to get them a fortune in return. What's amazing isn't just the convincing part, but the fact that he was able to use that one email address for so long so successfully.
Every time we see stories about people falling for Nigerian 419 scams -- including Harvard professors and Ronald Reagan's neuroscientist -- we're surprised that there are still people who fall for these types of scams. However, it seems these sorts of scams have worked for generations. There's a improbable book called Drake's Fortune, that covers an almost identical scam that was particularly successful for a small group of scammers about a century ago. Somehow, it seems likely that we'll still see people falling for these scams in another century as well.
| Name | Egorova Olga |
| Age | 25 |
| Mail Id | marriage-olga@rambler.ru |
| Locations | Volgograd |
| State | Volgogradskaya Oblast' |
| Country | Russia |
| Scammer Scenario | |||||
| I get a mail from her and after number of letters i asked her cell number, in the next letter she said that the cell was stolen!!Then i started my detective work on the internet and.. BINGO!! Same pre-written letters and common scam situation. | |||||
Scammer Letters
Dearest one,
I know this mail will come to you as a shock since we have not meet or had a previous e-mail please bear with me,i will really like to have a good relationship with you, and i have a particular reason why i decided to write you because of the urgency of my situation here...It gives me more delight because i do believe that we both have to be open-minded and sincere as to know each other deep down, share our aloneness and thoughts, before i go on further let me introduce myself fully to you, i am rose 24 years old girl from Rwanda, my hobbies are, reading novels, jogging, listening to music, cooking, listen to music, tv and movies. I am the only daughter of Late Dr Fredrick johnson, before my father death he was a very well know commercial in cocoa, kola-nuts, cashew nuts, arts works and land developer, my father was killed by unknown gun men no one know why he was short but before he died he is being taking to a confidential hospital where he stay and died but before he died he told me everything about this money since am the only child he has. I am forced to contact you because of the maltreatment I'm receiving from my step mother, She intended to take away all my late father's coffers and properties from me since the unexpected death of my beloved Father, Meanwhile I wanted to traveling to Europe but she hideaway my international passport and other valuable traveling documents.
Luckily she did not discover where I kept my father’s File which contains significant documents. So I determined to run to the refugee camp where I am presently seeking asylum under the United Nations High Commission for the Refugee here in Dakar, Republic of Senegal. I wish to contact you personally for a long term business relationship and investment help in your Country, My father deposited the sum of USD$6.7 million Dollars in a Bank with my name as the next of kin. However, i shall forward you with the necessary documents on confirmation of your acceptance to assist me for the transfer and investment of the fund.As you will help me in the asset, and i will like to complete my studies, As i was in my first year in the university when the crisis started in my life. it is my wish to compensate you with 10% of the total money as soon as the transfer has being made if possibly you do not find good enough to be your life partner or trustee, This is the reason why I decided to contact you.
As soon as I receive your positive response showing your interest I will put things into action at once. In the light of the above, I shall appreciate an urgent message indicating your ability and willingness to handle this transaction genuinely. You can call me with this phone number (+221 763981137),this is Rev donald Peter phone number who is taking care of us in the camp here in Senegal, because i have no phone here but if you will like to speak to me on phone, it is the Reverend fathers Number here in the camp, call and tell him you want to speak with Miss Rose Johnson,he will call me because i am staying at the female hostel.I attached here my photo,Please do keep this only to your please i beg you not to disclose it till i come over,once the fund has been transferred,Sweet dreams and blessed days to you.
Egorova
| Name | Beverly Whited |
| Age | 34 |
| Mail Id | babamaga500@yahoo.com |
| Locations | Lagos |
| State | Los Lagos |
| Country | Nigeria |
| Scammer Scenario | ||||||||
| She said she was Crossville tenn. After she got for 200.00 dollars she blocked from leavening comments on her page | ||||||||
Scammer Letters
Hello my dear friend!! |
| You know that I concentration in you, and I hope that you will notice of me also. Due to this motivation, I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Eva. I am Beverly Whited woman from East part of Nigeria. I am 28 years old and my zodiac is Aquarius. Do you believe in zodiacs? I work as a nurse. I very love my job, because I dream about it from my childhood. I very like to help people, and I get enjoyment from my work!! Of course, I have a negative side in my work, but I think that it does exist in every job. As for my family, I love them very much. I live with my parents. Also I have an older brother Maxim, he is member of the armed forces. He is wedded, and has a wonderful wife and little son. They are so happy, and I dream about such friendly family. Due to this reason, I am here in the Internet. I am looking for my future beloved, with whom we create a good, strong family with healthy and happy children. As for my free time, I like reading, listening music, going on picnic with my friends, playing in different games, such as volleyball, tennis. Also I like making photo of the nature, people, animals and all interesting moments in my life!!!!! Also I wanna say that I am truthful person, and don't like the people, who lie, so we can converse not only by letters.I know English well, so you also can call me in skype, msn or yahoo we can chat there with the camera, so we can see each other and hear the voice! Waiting your replay!!!! Take care Your friend Beverly Whited |
In the 1990s, Africa's richest countries in terms of resources -- Nigeria and Zaire -- had dictators who were pushed out of power, leading to an international publicity movement to freeze international bank accounts of their families and friends.
The operation to freeze accounts associated with former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and former Zaire dictator Mobutu Sese Seko led to the birth of Internet scammers, pretense as family members with millions of dollars to hide from the authorities.
The scam, usually known as "advance fee fraud," has develop with technological development to include phishing scams -- which use phony sites -- and keyloggers at cybercafés that steal e-mail login information and send suffering calls to contacts.
The scams have also evolved to include social-networking sites and mobile-phone technology, and are taking advantage of worldwide events such as the upcoming FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
"As ICTs [became] more complicated, advance fee scams evolved to take advantage of new average such as instant messaging and online social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning), and in the process became the global phenomenon [they are] today," said Bill Zimmerman, CEO and founder of Limbelabs in Cameroon.
In the early scam messages, an e-mail would be sent introducing the sender as the wife/son/daughter or close family member of a former ruling family but would demand "an advance fee" before starting the transaction. In other e-mail, the contact would claim to have been awarded a huge government removal contract and would invite the "investor" to the country, where they would meet with phony government officials.
Nigeria Takes Action
Nigeria is perhaps the best-known African country where advance-fee-fraud scams originate. Indeed, the scams are known as 419 scams, after section 419 of the Nigerian penal code, which prohibits the crime.
"It's usually accepted that the 419 scams originated in Nigeria, and there is a growing perception that the miscreants concerned have now started relocating to neighboring countries," said Steve Santorelli, director of Global Outreach at Team Cymru, an Internet security research firm.
Last year, Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) launched an awareness campaign. It also association a ban on nighttime Web browsing in public places, conducted raids on cybercafés in Lagos and other cities, and succeeded in making some highly publicized seizes, but the problem has not been fully stamped out.
"Cybercafés are abundant ground for this type of scam; once a keystroke logger is installed on a café computer, the machine becomes a harvester of login information for every other person who uses it; it's one reason I recommend travelers to carry a netbook or smartphone, rather than using a public machine," added Limbelabs' Zimmerman.
In one of the newest scams, criminals take over e-mail accounts and send messages to contacts, saying the person is wedged in Nigeria after being robbed and needs money to sort hotel bills. The e-mail then gives an alternative e-mail address where the contact can send money via Western Union or any other form of immediate transfer.
Ghana, one of the largest gold producers on the continent, has taken a firm step against criminals who target international business investors. The government sends security officers to the airports for routine checks.
"The government of Ghana frequently dispatches security agents to the international airport in Accra; the security personnel request visiting foreigners and their Ghanaian or African hosts to the airport police station for questioning when the hosts (upon arrival at the airport to pick up their guests) appear doubtful," said Yaw Owusu, managing director of Gateway Innovations in Ghana, which manages a technology park.
Victims Still Available
Greed and the wish to make quick money have been given as major reasons why people fall into these scams, but unwariness and loneliness have also been advanced as reasons why people continue to pay attention to scammers.
"Lonely people are more vulnerable to cyberscams, and they seek to fill the affecting void in their lives with relationships established in cyberspace. Secondly, the more naïve, the less educated and less showing a person is to different people, a variety of life experiences, the more at risk he or she becomes to scams of any form," Owusu said.
Although the scams are common in Africa, according to a 2009 report from the Internet Crime Complaint Center, cybercrimes originating from African countries made up only 10 percent of the reported number of victim complaints, with the U.S. and U.K. comprising more than 75 percent of the total.
There are numerous Web sites that help people understand how to avoid the 419 scam, which has probably led to criminals moving to mobile-phone technology. SMS promotions by big companies have led to schemes where scammers copy company officials and send SMSes to potential victims, saying they have won promotions and saying they should send money via mobile services to process the winnings. However, many governments in Africa have empowered law enforcement agencies to work with mobile-phone companies to battle these new scams.
I got this scam email form Robert Doran. Be aware of this mails
Order of Reconciliation Payment,
This is in accordance with the irrevocable instruction of your payment received from the office of the Investigation department of the ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIME COMMISSION (EFCC) today. You are being contacted by this office today because your Case File (Ai) is the very first File on our Settlement Files Cabinet forwarded and contracted us to see to your immediate compensation payment of the sum of $1,200,000.00 from their Offshore Account with us. The commission further more explained the reasons while you are been compensated. This might interest you to know that during the recent internet investigations and probing processes conducted by the EFCC and investigation monetary agency (UK), your E-MAIL address was discovered among the SPAM violated list and victim of fraud. The said payment is a reconciliation payment to every foreigner’s beneficiary of funds which due to one hitch or the other, the transfer of such fund was not successful at that
time.
In view of these recommendations, we were meant to understand that during the last United Nation (UN) and EFCC, investigation monetary agency meetings held in Abuja Nigeria in conjunction with international Monetary funds (IMF) committee , it was alarmed so much by the rest of the world in the meetings on the lose of funds by various foreigners to the scams artists operating in syndicates all over the world today, In other for the Federal Government of Nigeria to retain the good image of their great country, the president (Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'adua) has instructed the payment of $1,200,000.00 to victims each via DEUTSCHE BANK (UK) under the funding assistance by the Nigeria Intelligent Monetary Unit in concurrence with the Federal Ministry of finance (Federal Capital Territory) with the letter of Authorization from the office of the finance minister has given us the right to remit such funds valued at $1,200,000.00 to it beneficiary as remuneration payment among which your contact was listed and this transfer is expected to be made within the next 144 hours. Sequel to this, the number of applicants at hand, 34 beneficiaries from Canada, America and Australia has been paid and we still have more left to be paid and we are glad to inform you that your payment shall be actualize within 48 hours after your response and fulfillment to this official letter.
To avoid unnecessary delays, Please contact the investigation monetary agency (IMA) Department United Kingdom (Mr. Robert Doran) with the information below on behalf of the of the DEUTSCHE BANK to facilitate the said payment and you are requiring confirming the information below so as to enable us confirm your rightful beneficiary and proceed with the transfer arrangement without any further obstruction. Please confirm the information below to
Investigation Monetary Agency
Mr. Robert Doran
Direct Email: imd.robertdoran1@web2mail.com
Contact Tel: +44 703 595 8752
1. Full Name:
2. Residential Address:
3. Mobile Phone Number:
4. Nationality:
5. Present Occupation:
6. Country:
Prompt action is necessary as time is of essence
Management.
Investigation Monetary Agency
Deutsche Bank (DB)
Even email has a dark side. This tool created basically to allow messaging across networks was seized early on by a group of enterprising Nigerians. The scam became famous. A trusting victim in the West would receive an email about a massive fortune that awaits them if they follow a few steps. "$36,000,000 could be yours. We just need you to send us $10 so we can process payment." And then another $10, and then another $20, and then another $50, and on and on.
Billions? According to UltraScan, a Netherlands-based research organization that studies 419 scams, revenues exceeded USD $9 billion in 2009. A record year. Scammers are not only targetting the United States and Europe but also Korea, Vietnam and China. Asia is an 'emerging market' for fraudsters too.
Recently, Nigeria is trying to clean up its act. It has established the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Their authorization is to curb not only advance fee fraud, but also corruption, money laundering, bank misconduct, and other miscellaneous acts. Needless to say, they have a lot on their cover.
Western countries too have been trying to crack down. In February of this year, the U.S Justice Department convicted a man for operating AFF scams for five years out of Nigeria, Ghana and the U.S. But still, action remains rare.
The most interesting development in recent years is a community of vigilantes known as scam baiters. These people (heroes?) consider themselves by wasting the scammers' time. They build long emails expressing deep interest in the hoax, but of course, the joke in on the fraudster.
Freshly, the scam baiters have become naughtier. They have started requesting small jobs from the scammers in order to get their money. One of group maintains they were from the Church of the Painted Breast.
In another case, the scam baiter claimed he was part of an organization that paid for the production of hand-drawn maps. After much negotiation, the scammer was persuaded to produce multiple maps of British towns.
EBay is a great site and is used by numerous to buy and sell new and used Items. It really is the world’s Largest Garage Sale sadly when an online site becomes as big and popular as E-Bay the scam artists appear to just naturally follow. These Scam artists will often try to steal your Idenity and get your bank or credit card information in addition to your E-Bay Id and Password.
A classic Ebay Scam Artist will send you an e-mail requesting that you update your account. Often this request to update your account is made under some fake pretence like it is suspended or has been suspected of Fraudulent use. Here is a Copy of a recent Ebay Scam E-mail I received http://ewguru.com/ebay-scam. You will notice the E-Bay Link on this page looks real. Don't click it. You can however do a right click properties and observe that it is in fact a phony link.
E-bay has an outstanding online Tutorial that teaches how to stain and protect yourself from spoof e-mails http://ewguru.com/spoof-emails.
Here are 8 reliable Ways to Spot an EBAY Scam E-Mail and keep You from Identity Theft
1 - Wrong E-Mail Address
Any E-mail Sent to an E-mail Address that is Not Your Primary Ebay E-mail Account is extra than likely a scam.
2 - phony links.While several emails have links included, just memorize that these links can be fake too. After you click on the Link a Real E-Bay Address should appear. To determine if the Web address in your browser is a real eBay address, look for ".ebay.com" instantly before the first "/".
3 - Requests Personal Details
Any E-mail that requests you enter private information like User ID, password or bank account number either by clicking on a link in the E-mail or finishing a form within the e-mail are a strong indication the e-mail is a SCAM.
4 - Urgent Subject Lines
Subject likes * * * Please Verify & Update Your Account * * *
5 - General greetings.
Masses of emails begin with a Greeting, such as: "Dear Ebay member instead of the Name you used when you registered for your account.
6 - Shock to Action
Many false emails try to trick you with the threat that your account is in risk if you don't sign in and fix it NOW!
7 - HTML Website phony
Emails that show to be websites. A few emails will look like a website in order to get you to enter personal information. Ebay never asks for personal information in an e-mail.
8. Misspellings and bad grammar
Scam emails may contain misspellings, incorrect grammar, missing words. Many Times these are used to trick the E-mail Filters.
A quick review
If you accept an E-mail with a Link requesting you to click on the link and sign in to your E-bay account, Don't Do It!.
If you get an E-mail that looks like an EBay Sign in Form, Don't Sign in!
If you are unsure if the e-mail is real or scam forward it to spoof@ebay.com and request help.
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