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FBI: Social Media, Virtual Currency Fraud Becoming a Huge Problem
coondoggie writes: Criminals taking advantage of personal data found on social media and vulnerabilities of the digital currency system are two of the emerging Internet law-breaking trends identified by the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in its annual look at online crime. The IC3 said 12% of the complaints submitted in 2014 contained a social media trait. Complaints involving social media have quadrupled over the last five years. In most cases, victim’s personal information was exploited through compromised accounts or social engineering.
Does that happen when the virtual currency losses get translated back to real $?
While FBI was pointing finger at the social media as one of the source of huge problems it forgets, - perhaps too conveniently, - that one of the biggest source of problems happens to be >o?the government of the United States of America
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
The FBI is not really the correct authority to deal with this problem. It should really be an empowered communications authority that works with local and federal policing agencies to track and prosecute these communications network crimes. It could certainly escalate up to a federal investigation but the initial response should be much more readily accessible to the public and a focus on fines for poor network behaviour. This then escalating up to agents in the field for more intense investigation, not communications authority agents but Federal and State police investigative agents.
The numbers will bog down investigative agencies and in the end much like house breaking or car theft, nothing much will be done about because they are simply unable to cope with the numbers. So much like traffic offences, it becomes more an administrative control with simple more readily applicable penalties and should it require it, escalation into full investigation by the appropriate policing authorities.
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
Look at all the fucking criminals at the top of the banking foodchain and tell me the real problem isn't with the US dollar... Bailouts? AKA paid to royally screw up, and with taxpayer dollars? Central bankers are the problem. The solution is obviously to decentralize the system.
That really sums up the inherent, intentional dysfunction in American "justice".
It's ok, they just slap some silly fine and noone goes to jail.
But virtual currency fraud is a really serious one.
Complaints involving social media have quadrupled over the last five years.
Perhaps usage of online social media has also quadrupled over the last five years.
Fifty years of Yippie! 1968-2018
I imagine companies using public information to authenticate log-on is a big part of 'Social engineering' here.
The FBI has committed identity theft via social media too. They don't want things to improve.
If you are on a website with a user name, I defend your right to act like an idiot. You act like an idiot and let the moderator of that specific website sort it out. But, if you are talking to people who actually exist, that you know, or even a celebrity and you make death threats or hateful comments, then I believe you should still be able to be prosecuted and fined at the least. The only problem is who is to say someone else wasn't using your user name, IP, or anything that could be hacked, spoofed, or simply left logged in on a library. I know we don't want to go South Korean and give everyone their own online identity cards, but there is a place for websites that require identities. Maybe they wouldn't be used or maybe a group of happy, polite people would emerge in those sites making them a new hub for kindness who knows.
I like how this got downvoted considering how many articles on security breaches and "don't use the same password for multiple accounts" get posted.
IC3 GTFO
Not so sure the FBI has much credibility any longer.
It's been suggested numerous times they coach these half-assed terrorist in the US, in addition I would like the names of the social sites hit hardest, because it sounds a lot like Facebook.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
I'm not sure now stealing crypto-currencies can be a crime. They're not money. They're hardly property. They don't have any real value.
Waste of time for law enforcement to even touch this kind of crap. It's a risk you take when you deal with crypto-currencies.
Look at how many websites require you to enter your name, address, date of birth, security question and security answer just to sign up for an account these days.
No, they require you to enter "A" name, address, date of birth, security question and security answer... Damn few actually verify a thing. But keeping track of all that data is hard without a good keyminder (like keypassX) and keeping track of a keyminder is a lot of work itself. Too many people would rather just give FaceBook all there infos. So you get the inevitable result of people being lazy with security.
Real currency fraud is actually less common these days then cyber crime. I mean who carries cash anymore?
Schools should educate people NOT enter real data on social networks. Never put your real name, any pictures of your face, anything that could be traced back or used against you.
But of course they don't its such a fucking boon for police/spies/nsa whatever. Their research is a fucking google search.
The flipside is that people with no education make social engineering for shady purposes innecesary, but what do they care. Protecting people is not their actual job.
Disclaimer: I know this sounds like i'm fighting "the power" against "the man" or something, but it really is very fucking dangerous to stick your face online.
Look at how many websites require you to enter your name, address, date of birth, security question and security answer just to sign up for an account these days. This is not a social media problem, this is a business problem. Corporate America made this problem in name of profit and is trying to pass the dangers of it onto the government/taxpayers like usual.
Which is why I ALWAYS lie to such sites... The only businesses who get my legal name and birthday are ones that legally require it, everybody else gets a standard fictional set of data that's somewhat related, but not my real information. Yea, I get facebook "Happy Birthday's" on the wrong day and a lot of my friends don't know my real birthday isn't what they think, but my data isn't at risk of accidental exposure this way.
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
Look at how many websites require you to enter your name, address, date of birth, security question and security answer just to sign up for an account these days.
No, they require you to enter "A" name, address, date of birth, security question and security answer... Damn few actually verify a thing. But keeping track of all that data is hard without a good keyminder (like keypassX) and keeping track of a keyminder is a lot of work itself. Too many people would rather just give FaceBook all there infos. So you get the inevitable result of people being lazy with security.
How hard is it to keep a fictional identity? Just pick one, birth day, legal name and the like. Use your made up identity for everybody by default, until you are faced with situations where the REAL information is legally required. Unless you are just crazy about not being tracked and think you need to keep everything separate... In which case you need to make sure you never use your internet connection from your cellphone or at home (Not to mention you need to be careful to use only public WiFi connections in various geographic areas too... ) At that point, you just need to deal with keeping track of your lies as the price you pay for being nuts....
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
2 case-in-point "proofs thereof" from mell directed my way (#1 http://slashdot.org/comments.p... saying someone should "visit me & it's Guilliani time", posting my address + #2 http://slashdot.org/comments.p... saying I am a pedo/child-molester & I AM NOT, WTF!)
* Man - that penniless MORON mmell's TRULY sick in the head, no questions asked... WTF!
APK
P.S.=> Those aren't "isolated incidents", there's others like them over time as well from others, usually by unidentifiable anonymous cowards posts & other 'threats' etc. + posting where I live etc. - et al (worse too)... apk