Delaware Men Indicted on ‘Phishing’ & ID Theft
It was nice to see Federal Prosecutors unseal an 18-count indictment on two Delaware men now facing ‘phishing’ and identity theft charges.
As often as I get those darn ‘phishing’ emails it seems almost a miracle to read about someone actually getting caught, so even though I try and never wish harm or bad things on others because of that “karma” deal, this article honestly did put a smile on my face. :-) According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Beth Moskow the emails were fake PayPal messages (and one from Citizens Bank) and the stolen information was allegedly later used to make credit card purchases with the victims cards and funds. This is a classic ‘phishing’ operation and very common today on the Internet.
The indictment states there were at least seven victims and that the indicted men charged at least $1,000 on each card using the stolen information. The indictment also charges the men with wire fraud and attempted wire fraud for the fake e-mails. Both men have pled not guilty.
What did surprise me –the most– is that the men are now face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine FOR EACH of the seven counts ($1,750,000 Million in fines) for the unauthorized use of a credit card and two counts of possession of at least 15 “unauthorized access devices” with intent to defraud. Plus the other charges add on up to 20 additional years in prison for wire fraud and attempted wire fraud and an additional 14 years in addition to any sentence for aggravated identity theft.
My Advice: Want to go phishing Fishing, buy a nice sporty pole, hooks and worms. Leave your laptop at home.
Additionally: Upgrade your Microsoft Internet Explorer to Version 7 (just out) which includes a built in ‘Phishing’ Filter or get the ‘Anti-Phishing’ toolbar from Netcraft it is a very useful protection tool and free.
Source: Delawareonline.com
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Check out what others are saying about this post...[...] While just a few posts back we were recommending the new IE anti phishing addition, Litan’s research already indicates that anti-phishing features in the newest browsers, such as Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, for example, are obsolete by the time they’re introduced. The criminals seem to always be a step, or more, ahead. [...]
[...] While just a few posts back we were recommending the new IE anti phishing addition, Litan’s research already indicates that anti-phishing features in the newest browsers, such as Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, for example, are obsolete by the time they’re introduced. The criminals seem to always be a step, or more, ahead. [...]