Category Archives: Web Fraud 2.0

Spear Phishing Attacks Snag E-mail Marketers

November 24, 2010
12 Comments

Criminals have been conducting complex, targeted e-mail attacks against employees at more than 100 e-mail service providers (ESPs) over the past several months in a bid to hijack computers at companies that market directly to customers of some of the world’s largest corporations, anti-spam experts warn.

The attacks are a textbook example of how organized thieves can abuse trust relationships between companies to access important resources that are then recycled in future attacks.

Captchabot: Blurring Human and Machine

November 16, 2010
25 Comments

Last week, I wrote about a “bulletproof hosting” provider that offers dodgy Web hosting that is insulated from takedown by abuse complaints or requests from Western law enforcement agencies. Today, I’ll look at one of that bulletproof provider’s biggest clients: Captchabot.com, a service that automates the solving of “CAPTCHAs,” those annoying agglomerations of squiggly numbers and letters that many online services require users to solve to help ensure that new accounts are not being auto-created by a computer.

Body Armor for Bad Web Sites

November 9, 2010
19 Comments

Hacked and malicious sites designed to steal data from unsuspecting users via malware and phishing are a dime a dozen, often located in the United States, and are a key target for takedown by ISPs and security researchers. But when online miscreants seek stability in their Web projects, they often turn to so-called “bulletproof hosting” providers, mini-ISPs that specialize in offering services that are largely immune from takedown requests and pressure from Western law enforcement agencies.

SpyEye v. ZeuS Rivalry Ends in Quiet Merger

October 24, 2010
39 Comments

Chatter in the hacker underground suggests that certain elements within that community have conspired to end development of the infamous ZeuS banking Trojan, and to merge its code base with that of the up-and-coming SpyEye Trojan. This Web Fraud 2.0. acquisition appears to be a bid to build a more powerful e-banking threat whose sale is restricted to a more exclusive group of crooks.

Pill Gangs Besmirch LegitScript Founder

October 21, 2010
54 Comments

Individuals who normally promote unlicensed, fly-by-night Internet pharmacies recently registered thousands of hardcore porn and bestiality Web sites using contact information for the founder of a company that has helped to shutter more than 10,000 of these Internet pill mills over the past year, KrebsOnSecurity.com has learned.

Earn a Diploma from Scam U

October 17, 2010
15 Comments

Since the dawn of the Internet, tutorials showing would-be scammers how to fleece others have been available online, and there is a growing catalog of fraud instructional videos as well. But for novices who who can’t be bothered to scour the ‘Net for these far flung free resources, the tricks of the trade can now be learned through intensive one-on-one apprenticeships that are sold online like community college classes in e-thievery.

Java: A Gift to Exploit Pack Makers

October 11, 2010
69 Comments

I have long urged readers who have no need for Java to remove the program, because failing to keep this software updated with the latest security patches exposes users to dangerous, ubiquitous attacks. In this blog post, I’ll show readers how attacks against Java vulnerabilities have fast emerged as the top moneymaker for authors of the best-selling “exploit kits,” commercial software designed to be stitched into hacked or malicious sites to exploit a variety of Web-browser vulnerabilities.

Take one look at the newest kit on the block – “Blackhole” — and it is plain that Java vulnerabilities continue to be give attackers the most mileage and profit, and have surpassed Adobe flaws as the most successful exploit vehicles.