We have all gotten used to receiving the scam emails trying to bilk us out of money. Many of these faux emails are from relatives in dire need of money, but they are so poorly written, we know they are fake. Well, we came across a story of a woman who was the target of a cybercrime that went a bit deeper that the usual fake email scam.

Julie Burkhart-Haid of Hudson, NY, knew immediately that something was wrong when on the morning of Oct. 1 friends from all over the nation started to call her with concern. According to the Hudson Star Observer, a number of Julie’s friend had received a long e-mail message for her detailing the fact that they had taken an unexpected trip to Wales and had been robbed at gunpoint. The email from Julie also said that she was injured and nearly raped in front of her son (also identified) and Joseph was seriously injured and still being treated. I

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With ATM skimming on the rise consumers need to be cautious when using ATM machines.  Identity thieves attach small skimming devices to the machines that copy a credit and debit card numbers, information on the magnetic strip and even personal identification numbers.

“Many consumers may not be aware that an ATM has been tampered with because they’re not educated about this,” said Robert Vamosi, a security, risk and fraud research analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research.

Sophisticated skimming devices placed right over a card reader slot allow scammers to capture the information embedded on the magnetic strip of your debit or credit card.  The small devices often are very hard to see and go unnoticed for long periods of time.   

Identity thieves also use tiny pinhole cameras that they mount in or around machines that record your fingers typing in your PIN. Or there

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You may have seen this before, it goes like this: a pop-up pops and it looks like a window on
your PC. Next thing a scan begins. It often grabs a screenshot of your “My Computer” window
mimicking your PCs characteristics then tricking you into clicking on links. The scan tells you
that a virus has infected your PC. And for $49.95 you can download software that magically
appears just in time to save the day.

From that point on if you don’t download and install the software, your computer goes kooky
and pop-ups will invade you like bedbugs in New York City.

Web pages may be infected or built to distribute scareware. The goal is to trick you into clicking
on links and download their crappy software.

Information Week reports those behind a new fake antivirus software have added a new social engineering element — live support agents who will try to convince potential victims that their PCs are infected and that payment is the cure.

The rogue software comes equipped with a customer support link leading to a live session with the bad guy. Real sca

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#1 Phone Fraud. The phone rings, a scammer poses as your banks fraud department. They may have your entire card number stolen from another source. They ask about a charge made and you deny the charge, but in order for the charge to be removed, they need your 3-4 digits CVV number off the front or back of the card. A variation may be they only have the last 4 digits found on a receipt or statement you threw away. They can also use the same ruse to get the full 16 digits from you.

#2 Clever Clerk. You hand your card to a sales clerk, waiter or waitress and they have a card reading wedge device that looks like this. The device may be wrapped around a band on their ankle. They bend over and make it look like they are fixing a sock, once they swipe the card through, they can make charges on your card.

#3 The Loop. You’re at an ATM that isn’t cooperating. Some nice guy injects himself into the scene to help you. During the process he watches you enter your pin. Aft

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