* subscribe at http://techPolice.com Police crack down on Net fraud ring Hackers tricked PayPal users; bought and sold eBay items By Bob Sullivan MSNBC Feb. 20 — Federal and New Jersey investigators are in the process of rounding up a ring of Internet fraudsters, MSNBC.com has learned. The suspects were involved in a variety of schemes using stolen credit cards, PayPal.com and eBay.com. As many as 175 people may have fallen for the scam, with one victim losing $5,000 in a single incident. Two suspects in Brooklyn have already been arrested and a flurry of additional arrests are expected soon, according to documents MSNBC.com has obtained. The scam started with a fake PayPal.com Web site designed to trick potential victims into revealing their account information to the suspects. PayPal customers were sent e-mails saying, “We regret to inform you that your username and password have been lost in our database. To help resolve this matter, we request that you supply your login information at the following website.” A link to http://paypalsecure.cjb.net followed. But victims that fell for the ploy were unwittingly entering their PayPal account information into a Web site set up by computer criminals. About 175 people fell for that part of the scam, according to one source familiar with the investigation. The site was operating for at least two months, the source said. Next, the criminals purchased big-ticket items on eBay using the stolen PayPal accounts, such as Sony PlayStations. Finally, to actually wring cash out of the scheme, the criminals would turn around and sell those items back on eBay and have the cash deposited in another account. PayPal refused to comment on the specific investigation, but spokesman Vince Sollitto said the company is aware of several account-stealing imitation sites. He said the firm works with customers to shut those down as soon as possible. He said PayPal customers aren’t liable for any losses in such a scheme, because they are automatically are insured up to $100,000. Documents obtained by MSNBC.com indicate Richard Nicolella, an investigator in the Camden County Investigator’s Office in New Jersey, was the first to spot the scam. “It’s pretty widespread,” he said. “. . . It was a shopping spree from Black Friday through January.” Nicolella said about $30,000 in merchandise was delivered to one Brooklyn address. The criminals had the items purchased on eBay delivered to mulitple accomplices at many addresses, Nicolella said, in order to prevent suspicion. Most of the fraud artists are in their 20s, and one of the suspects arrested was already on probation for another Internet scam, Nicolella said. But he refused to provide additional details about the investigation or the arrests. A spokesperson for the FBI in New York also refused to comment. FAKE PAGE SCAM WIDESPREAD Creating fake Web pages and tricking victims into entering personal data is hardly a new scam, but it seems to have new life lately. Last weekend some customers of Kaypro Technology, Inc., an online computer store, received e-mail from a computer criminal using the same technique as the PayPal fraudster. Fortunately for customers, the scam was betrayed by poor English in the e-mail: “During this week we have problems with our Customers DataBase we might loss some of our Customers information. So we ask you to fill this form: http://www.kaypro.net/form.htm.” Kaypro Technology’s real Web site is Kaypro.com. A spokesperson for the company said it immediately sent e-mail to all its customers warning about the scam. Only a few report receiving the invitation, and none reported falling for it, the spokesman said. /=-=-=-=-Click Here & Support Our Sponsor-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\ DEBT REDUCTION HELP! Did you know you can get INSTANT assistance lowering your interest charges and debt? If you have $5000 or more in credit card debt, click here to learn more about this exceptional offer. http://click.topica.com/aaabrob1dhr0b1uN1Ic/edebtconsolidation \=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/ --via http://techPolice.com archive: http://theMezz.com/cybercrime/archive unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] url: http://theMezz.com/alerts ____________________________________________________________ T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less. Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose. http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01
