Email scams attempt to trick computer users into making unwise
investments
IT security and control firm Sophos reminds computer users about
the danger of internet scams following the arrest of a Lebanese man
alleged to have defrauded victims out of USD $10 million using
email.
According to media reports,
Ali Mohamed Kdoud, who Interpol has allegedly been looking for
during the last two years, was arrested at Cyprus's Larnaca airport
on Thursday this week as he attempted to leave the island. Kdoud
has been charged with extorting millions from countless computer
users, located around the world. The victims, believing they had
won the lottery, handed over confidential and financial information
to prove their identities as well as stumped up cash for processing
fees. The authorities are reported to be currently holding Kdoud,
awaiting extradition papers.
Lotto scams usually take place via email. Messages with subject
lines such as "Lucky Winner" notify recipients that they have won a
large amount of money. The email often includes a "unique"
reference number and a phone number. When contacted, the scammers
claim they need to collect information from the victim to ensure
the prize is rightfully theirs. The confidential data taken from
the victim is then used to drain bank accounts.
"We are seeing more and more scammers like this one be arrested,
and it is high time that they pay the price for their greed," said
Carole Theriault,
senior security consultant at Sophos. "How many victims must have
been conned for this thief to net USD $10 million? Let this serve
as a wake up call for all computer users - before you start
dreaming of spending the rest of your days lazing on a beach
somewhere, make sure you verify all unsolicited emails for
authenticity before replying. Otherwise, you might find yourself
light in the pockets, not to mention frustrated that you got duped
by one of the oldest scams in the book - fraud."
Scams involving email include financial stock, also known as
pump and dump, and 419 scams, all of which are designed to steal
from the victims. Scams have pretended to come from National Lotto
organisations to "Who wants to
be a millionaire?" In one case, a single individual was
scammed
out of US $1.5 million. Some scams have even threatened the
recipients with death
threats.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.