The Cybercrime Wave That Wasn't

retroworks writes "Dinei Florencio and Cormac Herley write that cybercrime depleted gullible and unprotected users, producing diminishing returns (over-phishing). They argue that the statistics on the extent of losses from cybercrime are flawed because there is never an under-estimation reported. Do they underestimate the number of suckers gaining internet access born every minute? Or has cybercrime become the 'shark attack' that gets reported more often than it occurs?"

Comments

Over-Phishing

[SJHillman]

Let's continue using the phishing analogy

Fly-phishing: Phishing involving air travel
Saltwater Phishing - Phishing from overseas
Weekend Phishing - A leisure time activity that's used more as an excuse to drink beer than to scam people
Phishing Boat - A scammer's base of operations located on a vessel in international waters
Phishing Rod - Viagra scams
Phishing Line - Like a pick-up line, but for money instead of sex.

Re:Over-Phishing

[Anonymous Coward]

So then is a phishing scam involving trousers called a Tackle Box?

no you wont see Tackle Box phishing scams until Viagra for women.

Re:Plenty of suckers in the sea

[SJHillman]

If you think it's bad for the victims, think of the poor princes in Africa who can't find anyone to believe them when they want to traffic large sums of money into an offshore account?

Fix the Surveys

[residieu]

So we need to fix the surveys! If you get asked about how much you lost to cybercrime, claim to be a cybercriminal and give negative numbers. "I made $2 million in my Nigerian Prince scam. Would you help me smuggle money out of my country before my usurper cousin recovers it?"

Re:Plenty of suckers in the sea

[ccguy]

A classic: http://xkcd.com/570/

Re:Smarter and Smarter

[Anonymous Coward]

payphones