About Me 0066: Making Money Online Scams

How low is a Facebook scammer prepared to go? Here's a pretty sick rogue application that we've seen affecting some users of the world's most popular social network, leading to the all too familiar money-making survey scam at the end.

OMG she is so busted!! Dad catches Daughter on Webcam!

Hmm. It would be nice to think that no-one would be interested in clicking on a link like that. But human nature being what it is, some folks (guys in particular I would guess) might be tempted to find out more and find they aren't able to show some restraint.

So, what does happen if you click on the link?

First thing you'll see is this splash screen (I've used some pixelation to protect the innocent):

If you are still tempted to click further, you'll be asked by a rogue Facebook application to grant permission for it to be able to post to your wall.

By the way, it's not just your personal Facebook page that the app will be able to post updates to - it will also be able to publish to any pages you might be responsible for, which could prove highly damage if you administer a Facebook page for your firm.

So, after all this, do you get to see the video?

Nope. Instead, you'll be greeted by a survey. And this survey makes money for the scammers behind the scheme as they earn commission for every survey completed.

Worse still, your Facebook account has already been abused by the rogue application which has posted a message about the dad catching his daughter stripping on a webcam for all of your Facebook friends to see.

Wow she got caught so dirty.

Busted!! Dad Catches Daughter on Webcam!

Do not watch unless 18+

Content is graphic. Watch at your own risk!

In this way the scam spreads virally, attempting to earn as much money as possible for the survey scammers.

I know there will be people out there who feel that anyone who clicks on links like this deserve everything they get, but that doesn't mean the rest of us should be bombarded by spammy messages on Facebook just because some of our online friends have turned out to be a littel bit seedy.

We've seen cybercriminals use grubby themes like this to spread their attacks, and no doubt we'll see them again. Human nature isn't going to change and people will carry on clicking on them unless they're educated about the threats. Of course, it wouldn't do any harm if Facebook could work a little harder at preventing scams like this occurring in the first place.

If you have been hit by scams like this on Facebook, and are struggling to clean-up your profile, here's a YouTube video I made which describes what steps you need to take:

(Enjoy this video? You can check out more on the SophosLabs YouTube channel and subscribe if you like)

Make sure that you keep informed about the latest scams spreading fast across Facebook and other internet attacks. Join the Sophos page on Facebook, where over 60,000 people regularly share information on threats and discuss the latest security news.

We all know there are risks to storing personal information online, yet few of us take even the most basic precautions, like choosing unique and hard-to-guess passwords.

On Thursday, Google will introduce a tool, known as two-step verification, that will make Google accounts more secure and less vulnerable to hackers and phishing scams.

Google users who choose to use the tool will still enter their passwords to get to Google accounts like Gmail, Picasa and Google Docs. But they will also need to enter a second verification code, generated on the spot for one-time use and sent to their cellphone through a text message, phone call or app.

“Passwords tend to be the weakest link in the process of securing a Google account,” said Nishit Shah, a product manager for Google security who worked on the project. “We wanted to improve the security of the account in a way that is not just something the user knows, the password, but what the user has, the phone.”

The threat is a real one. For instance, a hacker reached personal and business information about Twitter and its executives by breaking into e-mail accounts. And when you get those e-mails that say friends are abroad and in dire need of money, a phishing scheme is to blame.

Google’s new operating system for laptops, called Chrome OS, stores all of a user’s information in the cloud and none of it on a computer hard drive, making strong security even more important.

Businesses have used tools that require several passwords to access company systems for years, and Google started offering its business customers the service last year. But consumer Web sites haven’t done it, in part because the security hardware that companies give employees, like key fobs, is expensive and inconvenient.

Google has tried to overcome that by delivering the codes on cellphones, something most people have with them all the time. Users can provide a backup phone number in case their phone is dead or lost, and receive a list of 10 backup codes to use if they can’t get the codes via phone. And people who don’t want to enter two codes each time they access their Google account can tell Google to remember the code for 30 days.

Google users can find a link to set up two-step verification on the account settings page.

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About Me 0066

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Making Money Online Scams

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