Internet Fraud Docu

Business E-Mail Compromise (BEC):
A sophisticated scam targeting businesses working with foreign suppliers and companies that
regularly perform wire transfer payments. The scam is carried out by compromising legitimate
business e-mail accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques to conduct
unauthorized transfers of funds.
Wire transfer, is a method of electronic funds transfer from one person or entity to another. A wire
transfer can be made from one bank account to another bank account or through a transfer of cash
at a cash office.
Data Breach: A leak or spill of data which is released from a secure location to an untrusted
environment. Data breaches can occur at the personal and corporate levels and involve sensitive,
protected, or confidential information that is copied, transmitted, viewed, stolen, or used by an
individual unauthorized to do so.
Denial of Service: An interruption of an authorized user's access to any system or network, typically
one caused with malicious intent.
A DoS or DDoS attack is analogous to a group of people crowding the entry door or gate to a shop
or business, and not letting legitimate parties enter into the shop or business, disrupting normal
operations.
E-Mail Account Compromise (EAC): Similar to BEC, this scam targets the general public and
professionals associated with, but not limited to, financial and lending institutions, real estate
companies, and law firms. Perpetrators of EAC use compromised e-mails to request payments to
fraudulent locations.
Malware/Scareware: Malicious software that is intended to damage or disable computers and

computer systems. Sometimes scare tactics are used by the perpetrators to solicit funds from
victims.
Phishing/Spoofing: Both terms deal with forged or faked electronic documents. Spoofing generally
refers to the dissemination of e-mail which is forged to appear as though it was sent by someone
other than the actual source. Phishing, also referred to as vishing, smishing, or pharming, is often
used in conjunction with a spoofed e-mail. It is the act of sending an e-mail falsely claiming to be an
established legitimate business in an attempt to deceive the unsuspecting recipient into divulging
personal, sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and bank account
information after directing the user to visit a specified website. The website, however, is not genuine
and was set up only as an attempt to steal the user's information.
Ransomware A form of malware targeting both human and technical weaknesses in organizations
and individual networks in an effort to deny the availability of critical data and/or systems.
Ransomware is frequently delivered through spear phishing emails to end users, resulting in the
rapid encryption of sensitive files on a corporate network. When the victim organization determines
they are no longer able to access their data, the cyber perpetrator demands the payment of a
ransom, typically in virtual currency such as Bitcoin, at which time the actor will purportedly provide
an avenue to the victim to regain access to their data.
When it started?
As with many phenomena, there’s no exact date and time when and where this started. However,
as best as can be pieced together, here’s a brief version of what happened:
419 Scam in the 80’s

Fast-forward to the 1980s. For whatever reasons, during the extremely corrupt “Second Republic” in
Nigeria under then President Shehu Shagari, variations of these letters started to appear from
Nigeria. There were many different versions of the scam even at the beginning. Letters inquiring
about the health of someone and apologizing for the long silence; what should we do with the profits
from this huge investment of millions? Also the first instances of the Nigerian Prince or Royal Family
member requesting help to transfer a large sum of money out of the country in exchange for a
percentage. Then, along came the internet.
With email vastly cutting costs of sending actual scam letters, a unprecedented amount of advanced
fee fraud scams started showing up in emails. Though this was and still is a worldwide issue with
internet fraud originating from all over the world, Nigeria earned a reputation as the chief offender for
these scam emails due to the number that were associated with Nigeria. Advanced fee fraud is
commonly referred to now as “419 Fraud”, 419 being the article of the Nigerian Criminal Code (part
of Chapter 38: “Obtaining property by false pretences; Cheating”) dealing with fraud.
419 Scam in the 21st Century

Nowdays, the Nigerian Prince scam is all but gone. Numerous types of more complicated internet
fraud exist; via emails or otherwise. Scammers have learned to evolve and update their tactics. The
fraudsters aren’t all from Nigeria, and they never were, but they’re still out there and still making a lot
of money through fraud committed on the internet.
Spot imposters. Scammers often pretend to be someone you trust, like a government official, a
family member, a charity, or a company you do business with. Don’t send money or give out
personal information in response to an unexpected request — whether it comes as a text, a phone
call, or an email.
Do online searches. Type a company or product name into your favorite search engine with words
like “review,” “complaint” or “scam.” Or search for a phrase that describes your situation, like “IRS
call.” You can even search for phone numbers to see if other people have reported them as scams.
Talk to someone. Before you give up your money or personal information, talk to someone you
trust. Con artists want you to make decisions in a hurry. They might even threaten you. Slow down,
check out the story, do an online search, consult an expert — or just tell a friend.
Be skeptical about free trial offers. Some companies use free trials to sign you up for products
and bill you every month until you cancel. Before you agree to a free trial, research the company and
read the cancellation policy. And always review your monthly statements for charges you don’t
recognize.
 Be on your toes. Only open emails, attachments, and links from people you know.
 Don't believe what you see. It's easy to steal the colors, logos and header of an established organization and
make emails appear legitimate.
 Avoid sharing. Don't reveal personal or financial information in an email, text or over the phone.
 Pay attention to a website's URL. Hover over any links to see where they lead.
 If you are unsure whether an email request is legitimate, try to verify it by contacting the company
directly. Report suspected phishing emails to [email protected]
 Keep a clean machine. Make sure you keep your anti-virus software up to date.

Internet Fraud Docu

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Internet Fraud Docu

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Internet Fraud Docu

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Business E-Mail Compromise (BEC):

Malware/Scareware: Malicious software that is intended to damage or disable computers and

419 Scam in the 80’s

419 Scam in the 21st Century

You might also like