Category Archives: Web Fraud 2.0

Scam ‘Funeral Streaming’ Groups Thrive on Facebook

Posted on by

Scammers are flooding Facebook with groups that purport to offer video streaming of funeral services for the recently deceased. Friends and family who follow the links for the streaming services are then asked to cough up their credit card information. Recently, these scammers have branched out into offering fake streaming services for nearly any kind of event advertised on Facebook. Here’s a closer look at the size of this scheme, and some findings about who may be responsible. Continue reading Scam ‘Funeral Streaming’ Groups Thrive on Facebook→

The Dark Nexus Between Harm Groups and ‘The Com’

Posted on by

A cyberattack that shut down some of the top casinos in Las Vegas last year quickly became one of the most riveting security stories of 2023: It was the first known case of native English-speaking hackers in the United States and Britain teaming up with ransomware gangs based in Russia. But that made-for-Hollywood narrative has eclipsed a far more hideous trend: Many of these young, Western cybercriminals are also members of fast-growing online groups that exist solely to bully, stalk, harass and extort vulnerable teens into physically harming themselves and others. Continue reading The Dark Nexus Between Harm Groups and ‘The Com’→

Sextortion Scams Now Include Photos of Your Home

Posted on by

An old but persistent email scam known as “sextortion” has a new personalized touch: The missives, which claim that malware has captured webcam footage of recipients pleasuring themselves, now include a photo of the target’s home in a bid to make threats about publishing the videos more frightening and convincing. Continue reading Sextortion Scams Now Include Photos of Your Home→

Owners of 1-Time Passcode Theft Service Plead Guilty

Posted on by

Three men in the United Kingdom have pleaded guilty to operating otp[.]agency, a once popular online service that helped attackers intercept the one-time passcodes (OTPs) that many websites require as a second authentication factor in addition to passwords.

Launched in November 2019, OTP Agency was a service for intercepting one-time passwords needed to log in to various websites. Scammers would enter the target’s phone number and name, and the service would initiate an automated phone call to the target that alerts them about unauthorized activity on their account. Continue reading Owners of 1-Time Passcode Theft Service Plead Guilty→

Local Networks Go Global When Domain Names Collide

Posted on by

The proliferation of new top-level domains (TLDs) has exacerbated a well-known security weakness: Many organizations set up their internal Microsoft authentication systems years ago using domain names in TLDs that didn’t exist at the time. Meaning, they are continuously sending their Windows usernames and passwords to domain names they do not control and which are freely available for anyone to register. Here’s a look at one security researcher’s efforts to map and shrink the size of this insidious problem. Continue reading Local Networks Go Global When Domain Names Collide→

Don’t Let Your Domain Name Become a “Sitting Duck”

Posted on by

More than a million domain names — including many registered by Fortune 100 firms and brand protection companies — are vulnerable to takeover by cybercriminals thanks to authentication weaknesses at a number of large web hosting providers and domain registrars, new research finds. Continue reading Don’t Let Your Domain Name Become a “Sitting Duck”→

Researchers: Weak Security Defaults Enabled Squarespace Domains Hijacks

Posted on by

At least a dozen organizations with domain names at domain registrar Squarespace saw their websites hijacked last week. Squarespace bought all assets of Google Domains a year ago, but many customers still haven’t set up their new accounts. Experts say malicious hackers learned they could commandeer any migrated Squarespace accounts that hadn’t yet been registered, merely by supplying an email address tied to an existing domain. Continue reading Researchers: Weak Security Defaults Enabled Squarespace Domains Hijacks→

The Stark Truth Behind the Resurgence of Russia’s Fin7

Posted on by

The Russia-based cybercrime group dubbed “Fin7,” known for phishing and malware attacks that have cost victim organizations an estimated $3 billion in losses since 2013, was declared dead last year by U.S. authorities. But experts say Fin7 has roared back to life in 2024 — setting up thousands of websites mimicking a range of media and technology companies — with the help of Stark Industries Solutions, a sprawling hosting provider is a persistent source of cyberattacks against enemies of Russia. Continue reading The Stark Truth Behind the Resurgence of Russia’s Fin7→

Alleged Boss of ‘Scattered Spider’ Hacking Group Arrested

Posted on by

A 22-year-old man from the United Kingdom arrested this week in Spain is allegedly the ringleader of Scattered Spider, a cybercrime group suspected of hacking into Twilio, LastPass, DoorDash, Mailchimp, and nearly 130 other organizations over the past two years. Continue reading Alleged Boss of ‘Scattered Spider’ Hacking Group Arrested→