| Who’s Watching You?
Rochester, N.Y.) - New charges could be filed later this week against a man who set up hidden cameras in the women's restroom where he worked in Newark.Jeffrey Kriner was arrested after his landlord discovered boxes of video tapes in the basement.Surveillance Devices In the hands of investigators, small surveillance devices help catch drug dealers, thieves, and vandals. These tiny cameras are easily available to anyone on the Internet. The tiny camera, smaller than a quarter, is linked to a wireless transmitter. The lens opening is the size of a pencil point. A private investigator “John" said, “You could hide it behind just about anything."We conceal John's real identity because he's working undercover. He said 99 of mini-cams are used for theft prevention."Trying to watch the nanny or cleaning lady. No one comes and says they're going to hook up a camera in a shower," he said.There is also a device you can use to find a mini cam.
E-mail scams greet the season
Just in time for Cyber Monday and the online holiday shopping rush, high-tech Grinches are cranking up their fraud attacks with a new round of bogus e-mail, identity-theft experts say. Have you won $2 million in a Christmas sweepstakes held by Coca-Cola in the United Kingdom? Can you make big bucks just by cashing checks for an Irish researcher, Chinese exporter or rich oil consultant in Dubai? Is there a problem with your account at Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, eBay or PayPal? No. But you might think so if you fall for some of the recent e-mail scams infesting the Internet. And they always peak this time of year, as millions of shoppers spend more time on the Web. "We do see e-mail and phone scams picking up during the holiday season," said Linda Foley, executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a watchdog group based in San Diego.
New bill boosts war on identity theft
The federal government took a landmark step toward battling the explosion of identity theft by introducing legislation yesterday making it illegal to collect personal documents belonging to others in order to commit fraud. Under the new bill, part of the government's toughened fall law-and-order agenda, it will become a crime in Canada to obtain, possess or traffic another person's passport, credit cards, drivers licence or other identity documents for the purpose of committing fraud. The legislation is meant to close a gap in the Criminal Code. While it's currently illegal to commit fraud with another person's credit card or other personal information, police have no ability to take action against criminal rings collecting documents belonging to others. That gap has severely hindered the ability of police to catch criminals who engage in identity theft and related fraud, because such crimes are often perpetrated electronically or over the Internet by large groups that the police have difficulty tracking down.
CNRSW FFSC gives support for identity theft victims
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that as many as nine million Americans have their identities stolen each year. Some identity theft victims repair their problems quickly, while others may take years and hundreds of dollars to repair their good name and credit record.
The CNRSW Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC) offers an identity theft brief year-round to help service members and their families combat id theft. "Families must be constantly vigilant," said Deborah Johnston, FFSC, financial educator.
There are several ways to prevent id theft. Don't give out personal information over the phone, through the mail or over the internet unless you are sure who you are dealing with. Johnston feels that giving out personal information freely is where a lot of people get in trouble.
Cyber-crime 'worse than burglary'
Identity theft has become one of the most feared crimes in the UK, according to a study of more than 1,400 regular internet users, outranking burglary, assault and robbery. Around one in three respondents to the survey indicated that they had been the victim of some form of cyber-theft, including phishing emails, credit card fraud and unauthorised bank transfers. The research, commissioned by internet security software maker AVG, revealed that individual financial loss ranged from a few pounds to several thousand pounds. Some 90 per cent of respondents had threat protection software installed on their PCs, but a third remained unconvinced that these were adequate measures to protect them from cyber-crime. Liverpool topped the list of UK cities most afraid of cyber-theft with 93 per cent highlighting their concern.
Beware of e-mail scams this holiday season
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Just in time for Cyber Monday and the online holiday shopping rush, high-tech Grinches are cranking up their fraud attacks with a new round of bogus e-mail, identity-theft experts say.Have you won $2 million in a Christmas sweepstakes held by Coca-Cola in the United Kingdom? Can you make big bucks just by cashing checks for an Irish researcher, Chinese exporter or rich oil consultant in Dubai? Is there a problem with your account at Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, eBay or PayPal?No. But you might think so if you fall for some of the recent e-mail scams infesting the Internet.And they always peak this time of year, as millions of shoppers spend more time on the Web. Online shopping has grown at a double-digit pace in recent years. More than 70 million are expected to surf the Web this year for presents.“We do see e-mail and phone scams picking up during the holiday season," said Linda Foley, executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a watchdog group based in San Diego.
Russian hacker network goes underground
An online conduit accused of spreading vast amounts of malicious and criminal content has closed down its base in St Petersburg sparking fears that the operation will surface elsewhere. Security firm Trend Micro said that Russian Business Network (RBN) dropped off the internet last Tuesday, and has predicted its emergence in a newly reinvigorated form somewhere in Asia. Run by a shadowy figure known only as 'Flyman', RBN has been associated with a number of high-profile online crimes committed in the UK. Security firms have linked RBN to child pornography, corporate blackmail, spam attacks and online identity theft, according to a report in Times Online. "The UK has been a focus for this group and its criminal clients, and things are set to get worse," said David Perry, an analyst for Trend Micro.
Ten Firefox extensions to keep your browsing private and secure
Most people lock their doors and windows, use a paper shredder to protect themselves from identity theft, and install antivirus software on their computers. Yet they routinely surf the Internet without giving a second thought to whether their browser is secure and their personal information safe. Unfortunately, it's easy for someone with nefarious intentions to use a Web site to glean data from -- or introduce spyware to -- your computer. Even worse, sometimes all you have to do is randomly click on a site to have your data probed in a most unwelcome way.
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OpenSuse 11 and Geubuntu - new releases
The world of Linux moves quickly with new releases every day. Here are a couple of the releases that caught our eye this past week: OpenSuse 11.0 alpha and Geubuntu Luna Nova.
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