March 24, 2010
Accessing the Internet via a PC is quickly becoming passé and according to Gartner Research, the number of users accessing the Net via mobile phones will surpass those on PC’s by 2013. As more and more people use their mobiles as portable computers, it is only logical that hackers and malware will follow in an effort to capitalize on the criminal opportunities. Although mobile phone viruses and trojans have been around since at least 2004, as mobile phones evolve into powerful hand-held computers, the threat posed by mobile malware is vastly increasing in severity. Since early 2006, it has been possible to remotely activate a mobile phone’s microphone, transforming the phone into an omnipresent eavesdropping device. As mobile phones add more features, including cameras, Bluetooth connectivity and GPS functions, they will become even more powerful tools for criminals to reach out and discover unsuspecting victims. For example, a stalker could [...]
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January 30, 2010
Once again, criminals have shown their creativity in pursuing financial fraud in cyberspace. While most of us have already suffered phishing attempts via e-mail solicitations purportedly coming from our banking and credit card companies, a new twist on the scam is affecting smartphone users. Organized criminals have invaded “app stores” and provided fraudulent versions of banking applications to be downloaded by unsuspecting customers. The first store to be victimized by this scam is Google’s Android marketplace. As indicated below, Android phishers are targeting Google’s mobile operating system, not by inserting malware into the phone, but by submitting fraudulent mobile phone software applications to the Android store. Organized crime groups have created phony banking applications purportedly from reputable financial institutions, which rather than providing access to the customer’s own bank, instead steal login credentials and forward them to fraudsters. These details are of course then exploited to steal money from the [...]
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