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My other life as a Kickstarter scammer
I have the process down to a tee. I start by browsing Kickstarter, looking for projects with active campaigns. There's no specific selection criteria. Perhaps I find one that's just gone live, or one coming to the end of its fundraising window. I reach out with a message, explain who I am and invite the project contact to book in an interview. On the call, I feign interest, ask the right kind of questions and promise a write-up on Engadget in the near future. I leave it a day or two and reach out again, saying I've heard great things from others about a specialist that can increase a project's exposure for a daily fee. A highly unethical move for a journalist, but I set to profit from it, so what do I care? The Engadget article never materializes, of course, because this person isn't me.
FCC may fine robocall spammer $120 million for illegal spoofing
Everyone hates those robocalls that target our phones to sell things we don't need. They're universally reviled, with Republicans backing legislation for ringless voicemail, the FTC offering a $25,000 reward for anti-robocall tech and AT&T and Burner both creating automatic robocall blocking systems for their customers. Now, an individual robocall scammer is facing a $120 million proposed fine from the FCC for his massive caller ID spoofing operation.
Facebook limits News Feed links to scammy ad-filled sites
Facebook regularly tweaks your news feed to make sure you only see "quality" posts and ads. It's banned fake news sites from using the Facebook ad network, added an easy way to report false news posts, and has even hired third-party fact-checkers. Today, however, the company announced that it would focus its efforts on websites that contain "little substantive content and that is covered in disruptive, shocking or malicious ads." The news feed update is meant to help reduce the "incentives of financially-motivated spammers."
Nigerian email scammer stung by his own malware
With more and more internet users now wise to email scams, scammers are utilizing increasingly advanced techniques to stay one step ahead of their targets. A pair of researchers recently stumbled on a new a "wire-wire" technique that earned a 30-strong group of Nigerian scammers as much as $3 million a year, at least until one prominent member accidentally infected himself with his own malware. IEEE Spectrum reports that SecureWorks security experts Joe Stewart and James Bettke were alerted to this new kind of attack in February after they stumbled upon a keylogger that was sending unsecured data to an open web server. They watched for months as the ring collected keystrokes and screenshots of important documents from unsuspecting users. But because the malware was running on the scammers' computers too, it also gave them an important insight into who was behind the thefts, the tools that were used, the names of the affected businesses and the sums of money being transferred to third-party accounts.
EVE Evolved: Outlaws of EVE
EVE Online's Community Manager CCP Wrangler once said that "EVE isn't designed to just look like a cold, dark and harsh world; it's designed to be a cold, dark and harsh world." That sentiment sums up the core philosophy behind the game, which permits such nefarious gameplay styles as thief, smuggler, scam-artist, pirate and market manipulator. Underhanded deals go on every day in EVE, with bounty hunters hired to ruin someone's day and spies tearing corporations apart from within. Many are drawn to EVE because it's one of the few MMOs that allows players to embrace their darker side. The opportunity to be a real villain in a sandbox universe can be intoxicating. Perhaps more intoxicating is the notion that the presence of tangible villains affords players a rare opportunity to play the role of hero. For every pirate gang lurking at a stargate in low security space, there's an anti-pirate squad somewhere planning an attack. For every thief ready to empty their corporation's hangers, there's a security specialist weeding out spies. The true outlaws of EVE are people who have earned their infamy through acts of ruthlessness in their chosen field. Over the years, we've interviewed and examined some of EVE's most notorious outlaws. In this article, I look back at four of EVE's most wanted, how they earned their infamy, and what they're doing today.
How to tell if a GM is whispering you
A guildie got the above whisper Tuesday night. (I have blocked out the website so as not to promote this phishing attempt.) We have reports of this happening to a lot of people in-game right now as yet another attempt to get you to go to a site, so they can steal your login info and defile your characters. Let's dissect the above whisper: It's one whisper made to look like two. This will work if your chat settings match the scammer's chat settings, but if you've fiddled with your font or chat window, then the formatting will be off and the scam will be more obvious. The whisper is from a garbage name. All "players" I've seen with random characters have been scammers or gold selling barkers. So anything after such a name should be considered highly suspect. It says [Game Master]GM. The scammers aren't even trying here. Blizzard GMs have names and have <GM> before their names. It sends you to a non-Blizzard site. Don't go to any website you get in tells or in-game mail as a general rule. If you have received a ban of any kind, you will receive an email to the account you have on file with your subscription info.
Confessions of a gold scammer and identity thief
digg_url = 'http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/19/confessions-of-a-gold-scammer-and-identity-thief/'; "We have met the enemy and he is us." The player identified as "Patrick" is not the malevolent monstrosity we'd like to see. Nor is he a victim of circumstance, at that. He acts for all the world like a perfectly normal gamer, and if you didn't know he'd scammed between $10,000 and $20,000 in a year of reprehensible behavior, you certainly wouldn't be able to guess. That's what makes a video interview with him, mirrored and annotated at PlayNoEvil and originally recorded by Marcus Eikenberry, so odd on many levels. The full interview lasts thiry-eight minutes, which makes it a bit long for casual viewing. The article which mirrors the video notes some of the highlights, including when he almost breathlessly exhorts the moment he realized that there was nothing in PayPal's EULA that prevented him from not transferring his EVE Online account to a purchaser on Craigslist. His rationalizing of the actions include the loss of his job and financial instability, even as he begins the interview explaining how he would scam players in both EVE Online and World of Warcraft for fun. His words are unsettling, but what makes them all the more eerie is the fact that without the foreknowledge... there's no way to tell his voice from any of ours. When you have the time, the whole interview is well worth looking at if you're at all interested in account security and the culture of scammers.
The truth about Authenticators [Updated]
After getting a glimpse into the operations and motivations of a scammer, a lot of questions have arisen about the Authenticator. Can it be circumvented? Briefly and with your help, yes. Is having an Authenticator worth the hassle? Absolutely. These are just quick answers, and this is a topic worthy of more in-depth questions and long answers.What is the Authenticator?The Authenticator is a small device (pictured right) or an iPhone/iPod Touch app that can be tied to your account and provide an extra layer of security. The application is free, but the physical Authenticator costs $6.50 with free shipping in the U.S. They are also available in other countries.How does it work?The Authenticator generates a code that you must enter after entering your username and password when logging into WoW or when accessing your account management screens. This code is a one use code that is valid only for a limited time. But it is valid for longer than it lasts on the Authenticator. A new code is generated every few seconds, but an unused code is valid for longer than that (I'm not sure how long). For more details about how the Authenticator works, please read our interview with Blizzard.
The best of WoW.com: June 2-9, 2009
WoW Insider is now WoW.com, if you haven't yet heard, but don't worry: we still have everything you need to know about the world's most popular massively multiplayer online game, from tips and tricks to news and views. Here's our most popular posts from the past week, including news about all the new Druid forms above -- if it's in Azeroth, we've got news about it, just for you. News Beware of Blood Elves selling mountsOne of our writers' friends falls prey to the game's newest scam. Achieved: Level 1 to 80 with no deathsA character appropriately named Cautious reached the highest level in the game without dying once. Revamped Night Elf Druid cat forms revealedNew looks for Night Elf Druids. Zarhym explains Druid form color combosWant to make sure your Druid has the form you want? Here's how. Ensidia gets world-first Algalon 25-man killOne of the game's biggest pro guilds downs the last major boss in the current content. Features An interview with a scammerThe perp in the article above gets the WoW.com interview spotlight shined on him. WoW, Casually: Rating the classes for casualsWhich class is best to play for a casual player? Arcane Brilliance: Reaching the hit capMages, here's how to make the most out of those spells you're casting. The lore of UlduarThe latest game dungeon has more than a few hooks and hints into the rest of the World of Warcraft. The Queue: WaterfallsOur Q&A column will actually go chasing waterfalls to find answers to your questions. Not just stick to the rivers and the lakes that they're used to.
[1.Local]: Shoved into the deep end
Reader comments – ahh, yes, the juicy goodness following a meaty post. [1.Local] ducks past the swinging doors to see what readers have been chatting about in the back room over the past week.Yeah, we know you've already got Algalon on farm -- WoW.com readers are just uber that way. But for the rare handful of you still playing at a somewhat less stratospheric progression point ... How about those patches? Is the flow of new content keeping pace with your playstyle and interest?"The pace of new content is fine – ooh, shiny :)," wrote Julie. "What worries me is the rate at which old content becomes obsolete (which is way too fast). For example, I'm glad Ulduar and Emalon are out. I hate the fact you can't do Archavon without doing Emalon. I also hate the fact that there's no reason to go into Naxx (Pro-Drake, badges, etc.) or heroic five-mans, for that matter. Basically I'm ok with the new content coming out; not ok with being forced to move to the new content the moment it does, however. There should be some balanced incentives to keep doing older content."Is your guild working patiently through the existing content at its own rate, or has the addition of new content shoved you out into the deep end before you were ready?
An interview with a scammer
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Interview_with_a_WoW_scammer'; Recently, I wrote about a scam involving selling Spectral Tiger Mounts, but I never thought I would be able to actually interview the guy responsible. Luckily, this particular scammer was willing to discuss the scam candidly with my husband and I. He ended being very like a Ferengi in his attitude toward what he calls "business". Here is the story.Late last night, The Spousal Unit saw someone spamming Trade Chat, supposedly offering a Spectral Tiger Mount for sale. Since he knew two people that had been scammed by this, he called the seller a scammer in Trade Chat. The scammer sent him a tell and they proceeded to debate the issue in whispers. TSU called me over to show me the conversation, so of course I had to log on and pursue the interview further. Following are both interviews, copied over from in-game whispers.
Wealth category removed from Armory statistics
The Armory was updated with achievement and statistic tracking last week to accompany the new game features introducted in patch 3.0.2, along with tools to compare your achievements and stats to other players on your realm. There was a lot of concern over someone the things displayed out in the open for all to see such as the Wealth stat. How much gold you've had, how much you have, things like that. Players felt it made them into targets of sorts, figuring hackers, scammers and phishing sites would focus fire a little more. Heck, some people were just plain uncomfortable with other players seeing their gold stores.It looks like Blizzard actually agrees in this case. If they don't agree, at least they were feeling a little sympathy and wanted to calm some nerves. The Wealth category has been removed completely, and while you can still check up on other achievements and stats, you don't get a free look into someone's money bags anymore. I don't know that how much gold you have on display actually had an effect on who scammers target or not, but it's not like it was important information anyway and you might as well be more safe than sorry. Some stats are fun to see and compare, but I don't know that gold is one of those stats.
Outlaws of EVE Online: Miz Cenuij Part 2
How much time will you spend pulling together a confidence scam? And how integral is having a third party to facilitate what you do? It depends upon how much I am enjoying that particular scam. If I am enjoying it then time is never really an issue. I've spent months on individual scams, developing relationships, spending time on voice comms or the phone, whatever was required at the time. Other scams were instant 5-minute wonders. The difference between what I do and what a real life scam artist does is that in real life they are governed by money, how much time is any particular scam worth investing in? In New Eden I am driven by enjoyment and thus the time spent on any particular scam is what I choose it to be.
ATM skimmers: now with SMS notification built right in
Aw, how convenient! Now, when you purchase your next ATM skimmer, you don't even have to risk being arrested when you wander out to retrieve it. For those outside of the know, an ATM skimmer sits on credit / debit card machines and swipes information as unsuspecting civilians pass their cards through. In the days of old, scammers would have to physically retrieve the skimmer in order to acquire all that precious information; now, models with built-in SMS notification are becoming available, meaning that numbers, expiration dates and that easy-to-forget three digit code on the back can be shot out instantly after the data is snatched. Word on the street has these devices going for $8,500 a pop, and they can dish out around 2,000 texts. Just another zany hack to be aware of in the wide world of ATM shenanigans.[Via Hack-A-Day]
Beware of scam e-mails!
I've heard of plenty of reports of scammers trying to get your account information with e-mails claiming to be from Blizzard, but after having one land in my Around Azeroth mailbox, I thought I'd share it with you. And while we're at it, we can talk about how you can tell that an e-mail came from Blizzard or not.First off -- this didn't come to my primary e-mail address. Blizzard doesn't know me as "aroundazeroth@gmail.com" so any mail going there has to be bogus. And secondly, it's coming from Blizzard Europe, while I don't have a European account. However, if this had landed in my primary mailbox, and substituted US contact information for EU contact information, I'd have to take it seriously -- after all, it appears to have been sent from blizzard.com and it sounds awfully ominous. They suspect me of trying to sell my account and they're going to suspend it unless I verify it! Yikes!However, here's the big catch: after going through all of their ominous threats, they tell me to give them my account name and password. Nope, sorry. A Blizzard representative will never ask for your account name and password -- so don't give it out to anyone claiming to be with Blizzard, because that's all the information they need to take over your account. And if you get a mail like this that you're just not sure about -- don't give them any information, but confirm its authenticity with Blizzard, first. Get in touch with their billing support team by phone or e-mail!For those of you curious as to what one of these scams looks like, the full text of the e-mail is after the jump.
Get revenge on a 360 Ebay scammer: Call his mom
Moms really do know best. They also get results. Here's a satisfying tale from a guy who bought a used 360 on Ebay for $315 and got burned. He does a little detective work and tracks the non-shipping seller down to some town in Ohio, then calls him up only to get the phone slammed in his face. So who does he call next? The cops? Nah, he dials the dude's Mom and rats him out. Minutes later he has a refund, an apology and the pleasure of posting the most humiliating Ebay feedback ever. As reader Jamaicanbwoydre notes: Vigilante justice rules -- especially when Mom is playing the Charles Bronson role.
