Security news23 August 2007
AOL identity thief faces seven year jail sentence 23-year-old sent out Trojan horse disguised as malicious greeting cards
Phishers steal money and identities from internet users.
Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have reminded computer users of the threat posed by phishers following the conviction of a 23-year-old identity thief who targeted users of AOL.
Michael Dolan, formerly from West Haven, Connecticut and North Miami Beach, Florida, has admitted stealing names, credit card details and social security numbers from AOL members.
From 2002 until his arrest on 26 September 2006, Dolan used malicious software to steal AOL screen names from chat rooms. The users were then spammed with electronic greeting cards claiming to be from Hallmark.com, but which in reality installed a Trojan horse that prevented AOL customers from logging into their account without entering personal information.
Dolan would use the stolen information to order online goods and steal money from ATM machines.
A plea agreement with the US Department of Justice calls for Dolan to spend seven years in prison, and then remain on supervised probation for two to three years. He may also have to pay a fine of $250,000.
"Identity theft is a growing problem, and it's all too easy for innocent internet surfers to be duped into handing over confidential information about themselves," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Cybercriminals need to be given a strong message that they will be given a serious punishment if they are caught. Individuals, meanwhile, need to become more clued-up about how to protect their identities online."
Dolan is scheduled to be sentenced on 14 November 2007. More information about the case against him is described on the United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut website.
Last year Sophos revealed in a survey that 58% of people receive a phishing email every day. The security company recommends that businesses protect themselves with a consolidated solution which can control network access and defend against the threats of spam, hackers, spyware and viruses.
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About Sophos
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.
