15 Break-ins at Boston Area Churches – Nothing is Sacred
Last year around the holidays I wrote about burglars preying on churches. This year is no different. The Boston Globe reports “You know things are bad when they start knocking off churches. And judging by the number of churches knocked off recently, things are very bad indeed.” “I’m seeing levels of desperation out there I [...]
Twitter Crime on the Rise
Spammers, scammers, and thieves are paying attention. In the physical world, when communities become larger and more densely populated, crime rises. This also applies to online communities, like Twitter and Facebook. Twitter’s “direct messages” and “mention” functions are laden with spam, often prompting users to click various links. Why anyone would want me to “Take [...]
Foreign Cyber Cafes Track Customers to Prevent Cyber Crime
While many cyber cafes — especially in Brooklyn — have become a key destination for the young, hip and creative, in developing countries they are the breeding ground for international cyber crime. Since anyone can walk into these Internet parlors and begin a hacking rampage often aimed at U.S. interests, it’s the ideal place for [...]
“Flash Attacks” Make Big Money for Debit and Credit Card Scammers
Once a victim’s debit card number has been successfully skimmed, the card can be cloned, say, 100 times, and the cloned cards can be distributed to 100 people. All 100 people can then use the cloned cards to withdraw cash from 100 different ATMs within a brief window of five or ten minutes. If 100 [...]
Black Friday Launches Holiday Fraud Horrors
The Christmas shopping season traditionally kicks off on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. This also begins a time when criminals swarm the shopping malls as well as the Internet, seeking to take advantage of holiday opportunities. When shopping in stores, keep the following in mind: Employees: Seasonal employees are more likely to steal, from [...]