Tag: hoax

Wireless Network Used in Extortion

An Australian man in Rockhampton has been arrested for trying to extort money from people. Here’s how he did it.

  • He gained access to other people’s wireless networks. This is fairly easy to do, even if you turn on WEP encryption (read about securing a wireless network here). By using other people’s networks he was harder to locate
  • He sent users threatening messages, made to look like they came from elsewhere
  • He then demanded money to be dropped off at a specific location
  • And he repeated this a total of 12 times

Suitcase full of moneyThe police were able to find him and arrest him. It’s important to secure your wireless networks so that other people don’t use it to commit crimes.

Full article here.

2 New Skype Related Warnings

There are two new warnings related to Skype today. In each case it’s not Skype that’s the problem, it’s just related to their service.

1. Some people have received a warning saying “Security Center has detected malware on your computer“. If you click on the links provided you’ll get a message telling you malware was found on your computer. It then asks you to pay money for an alleged program to clean it. If you see this, ignore it. It didn’t really scan your computer for viruses, and the money they ask for won’t really go towards anything good.

2. Some Skype users have received a message about finding a lost girl. Again this is a hoax and if you click on the links provided a web site will attempt to install a virus on your computer. Ignore it.

More details can be found at Skype’s security site.