Online Fraud

  1. Flash Phishing
    Phishers always try to come up with new tricks to bypass phishing toolbars. So, it’s not really surprising that we've now seen several phishing websites that are using Flash-based content instead of normal HTML. The main objective for the use of Flash-based content is to avoid phishing detection by toolbars that analyze page content.
  2. It's Not So Much Social Networking as it is Social Engineering
    I keep getting asked about what malware Symantec has seen that’s been written to target social networks. While there have certainly been a few such as Koobface, people are asking the wrong question. If the social network sites are paying attention, and to their credit they usually are, these threats can be squashed pretty quickly.
  3. How Phishes Reach the Basket
    My previous blog post highlighted both what a phishing kit is and what functionalities it usually provides to a fraudster who uses it throughout the duration of the social engineering attack known as phishing. I want now to focus my attention on the delivery methods used by this piece of software
  4. Not-For-Profit Phishing
    A recent phishing scheme that targets users of Twitter (http://blog.twitter.com/2009/01/gone-phishing.html) may be related to a string of Web attacks against several high-profile celebrities and no doubt many other users.
  5. Phishing Attacks Utilizing Port Numbers
    There are varying types of technologies used by online attackers these days. There are old tricks and of course new ones, but it is the newer ones that make it even more difficult to handle the dilemmas faced in the world of Internet security. One of the trends of attack that was noticed a little while ago was an attack based on a website’s “port number.”
  6. IDNs in Phishing
    What is an IDN? IDN stands for “internationalized domain name.” These are the domain names that contain one or more characters that do not belong to a Latin-based western language (or characters that are not available in the ASCII character set).
  7. Reactive Phishing Defenses - Part 2
    My previous blog article was intended to highlight two new features observed in a number of phishing kits that held the aim of making the lives of security analysts more difficult. I want to now focus my attention on another trick that has been used in phishing kits in order to protect the attack against a technique called "dilution."
  8. A Guide for Beating Phishing Attacks
    Phishing is a way for individuals who are known as "phishers" to obtain your private information such as bank account details and passwords. Phishing messages come in the form of an email message that is directed to you and appears to be from a reputable company or business-often one that you have an association with
  9. Reactive Phishing Defenses – Part 1
    A "phishing kit" is small piece of software usually written in PHP, HTML, and JavaScript that mimics legitimate portals (for example, financial institution websites) in order to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details.
  10. Did You Catch Some Phish?
    The evolution of a phishing attack is quite straightforward. At first, the fraudsters compromise a vulnerable server and deploy a package called a "phishing kit," which contains a clone application of the targeted institution. Then, mass mailing activities, with the aim of reaching a large number of recipients, are accomplished.
  11. Travel the World without Moving - Literally!
    Back in the 90's, Jamiroquai had a hit album named "Travelling without Moving." The title gives an apt description of some of the fantastic things that you can now do on the Internet. For example, we can now literally travel the world without moving beyond the comfort of the armchair.
  12. Buyer Beware - Scam Olympic Ticketing Sites About
    A timely warning to those wishing to purchase last minute tickets for the Beijing Olympic Games of 2008 to beware of scams and rip offs. There are some fake but very well crafted ticketing Web sites that have been duping unsuspecting members of the public out of their hard earned cash by posing as legitimate suppliers for Olympic events.
  13. From Russia with Love
    We’ve all done foolish things for romance. The exhilaration of discovering a new partner is one of the more exciting feelings in the human experience. However, this flutter of emotions can also drive us to distraction -- so much so that reason and logic are often thrown out at its height.
  14. Political Implications of Cross-Site Scripting
    On the eve of the much anticipated Pennsylvania Democratic Primary, we received public reports of a series of cross-site scripting vulnerabilities that affected Barack Obama's campaign Web site. We also saw reports of these vulnerabilities being disclosed publicly on the XSSed.com Web site. The corresponding code to exploit the vulnerabilities was used to redirect users to Hillary Clinton’s Web site.
  15. Phishing for Easter Eggs
    There are hundreds of ready-for-use phishing kits available on the Internet. At the beginning of this month, a list with more than 400 links had been circulated on mailing lists and forums. Some kits are
  16. Trojan.Trafbrush: Providing Click Fraud Services to Affiliates
    My colleague, Takashi Katsuki, posted a blog that describes how Trojan.Farfli provides a service to affiliates, which allows them to increase the number of hits for an affiliate’s tracker. Recently I came across another Trojan,
  17. How to Prevent Buying a Fake Jeep - Trojan.Bayrob
    Tips to Avoid Fake Auctions We have previously discussed Trojan.Bayrob without describing the entire attack from end to end. This article will show how the entire scam works from initial contact right through to the
  18. Do as I Say, Not as I Do
    While there are various ways for attackers to trick users into disclosing their authentication credentials, phishing remains one of the most popular. Our spam traps caught a series of emails purporting to be from a
  19. Online Casinos an Easy Bet for Phishers
    We are currently in the process of compiling the upcoming Symantec Internet Security Threat Report. I am putting together the phishing sections for the Asia-Pacific and Europe, Africa, and Middle East ISTRs. One of the
  20. You’re Under Investigation!
    Earlier this afternoon in Italy hundreds of thousands of people received an email from a “friend” stating (approximately) the following: You’re under investigation! Hide everything and be quick!!! Your name appeared this morning together with