Author Archives: BrianKrebs

Arrest in ‘Ransom Your Employer’ Email Scheme

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In August, KrebsOnSecurity warned that scammers were contacting people and asking them to unleash ransomware inside their employer’s network, in exchange for a percentage of any ransom amount paid by the victim company. This week, authorities in Nigeria arrested a suspect in connection with the scheme — a young man who said he was trying to save up money to help fund a new social network. Continue reading Arrest in ‘Ransom Your Employer’ Email Scheme→

The ‘Zelle Fraud’ Scam: How it Works, How to Fight Back

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One of the more common ways cybercriminals cash out access to bank accounts involves draining the victim’s funds via Zelle, a “peer-to-peer” (P2P) payment service used by many financial institutions that allows customers to quickly send cash to friends and family. Naturally, a great deal of phishing schemes that precede these bank account takeovers begin with a spoofed text message from the target’s bank warning about a suspicious Zelle transfer. What follows is a deep dive into how this increasingly clever Zelle fraud scam typically works, and what victims can do about it. Continue reading The ‘Zelle Fraud’ Scam: How it Works, How to Fight Back→

Tech CEO Pleads to Wire Fraud in IP Address Scheme

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The CEO of a South Carolina technology firm has pleaded guilty to 20 counts of wire fraud in connection with an elaborate network of phony companies set up to obtain more than 735,000 Internet Protocol (IP) addresses from the nonprofit organization that leases the digital real estate to entities in North America. Continue reading Tech CEO Pleads to Wire Fraud in IP Address Scheme→

Hoax Email Blast Abused Poor Coding in FBI Website

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed today that its fbi.gov domain name and Internet address were used to blast out thousands of fake emails about a cybercrime investigation. According to an interview with the person who claimed responsibility for the hoax, the spam messages were sent by abusing insecure code in an FBI online portal designed to share information with state and local law enforcement authorities. Continue reading Hoax Email Blast Abused Poor Coding in FBI Website→

SMS About Bank Fraud as a Pretext for Voice Phishing

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Most of us have probably heard the term “smishing” — which is a portmanteau for traditional phishing scams sent through SMS text messages. Smishing messages usually include a link to a site that spoofs a popular bank and tries to siphon personal information. But increasingly, phishers are turning to a hybrid form of smishing — blasting out linkless text messages about suspicious bank transfers as a pretext for immediately calling and scamming anyone who responds via text. Continue reading SMS About Bank Fraud as a Pretext for Voice Phishing→

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, November 2021 Edition

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Microsoft Corp. today released updates to quash at least 55 security bugs in its Windows operating systems and other software. Two of the patches address vulnerabilities that are already being used in active attacks online, and four of the flaws were disclosed publicly before today — potentially giving adversaries a head start in figuring out how to exploit them. Continue reading Microsoft Patch Tuesday, November 2021 Edition→

REvil Ransom Arrest, $6M Seizure, and $10M Reward

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The U.S. Department of Justice said today it arrested a Ukrainian man who deployed ransomware on behalf of the REvil ransomware gang, a Russian cybercriminal collective that has extorted hundreds of millions from victim organizations. The DOJ also said it had seized $6.1 million in cryptocurrency sent to another REvil affiliate, and that the State Department is now offering up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest of any key leaders of REvil. Continue reading REvil Ransom Arrest, $6M Seizure, and $10M Reward→

‘Tis the Season for the Wayward Package Phish

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The holiday shopping season always means big business for phishers, who tend to find increased success this time of year with a time-honored lure about a wayward package that needs redelivery. Here’s a look at a fairly elaborate SMS-based phishing scam that spoofs FedEx in a bid to extract personal and financial information from unwary recipients. Continue reading ‘Tis the Season for the Wayward Package Phish→

The ‘Groove’ Ransomware Gang Was a Hoax

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A number of publications in September warned about the emergence of “Groove,” a new ransomware group that called on competing extortion gangs to unite in attacking U.S. government interests online. It now appears that Groove was all a big hoax designed to toy with security firms and journalists. Continue reading The ‘Groove’ Ransomware Gang Was a Hoax→

‘Trojan Source’ Bug Threatens the Security of All Code

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Virtually all compilers — programs that transform human-readable source code into computer-executable machine code — are vulnerable to an insidious attack in which an adversary can introduce targeted vulnerabilities into any software without being detected, new research released today warns. The vulnerability disclosure was coordinated with multiple organizations, some of whom are now releasing updates to address the security weakness. Continue reading ‘Trojan Source’ Bug Threatens the Security of All Code→