TIMES OF STONE CD
VVIGGINS. MS
= 73511
Clrculatio~~
WEEKLY
12/18/2008
~~~~~~iillllllllIIiI11IIIII!I!:l!I~
Giving Back Should Be
Part
.-,.? . Of Holiday Spirit
ibc.
,
During this holiday sea-
son the Better Business Bu-
reau ( B B B has learned of
new, agbessive ways that
cyber scammers use as they
'ttrmpt ta stpal money und
prsonul lnfurmatlon. 'Ihw.
include the sending of e-
cards i n email messages
that mntain malware (mali-
cious software); setting up
spooling web sites that look
like legitimate commercial
sites; and unleashing email
and phone *attacks" where
individuals receive mes-
sages asking for personal
data
'These cyber s m m e r s
will do whatever they can to
steal money and personal
information, especially dur-
ing the holiday semoq- said
Bill Moak, PresidentfCEO of
the BBB serving Mississip
pi. 'They continue to devise
new and different ways to
mmmit their crimes."
E-r3rds - In the e-
rnrd tgreetlng card) scam,
meswges are being sent via
spam and appear to be h m
a family member or fiend.
Genedly, the spam directs
the recipient to click on a
link prwided in the email to
view the ecard. When the
recipient clicks on the link,
they are unknowingly taken
to a malicious web page.
Spooling - Seawners
create false or shadow wpy
of a real web site or email in
order to mislead the d p i -
ents. All network tzaffic be-
tween the victim's bmwser
and the shadow page a r e
sent through the spoofer's
machine to enable the cap-
ture of passwords, account
numbers, etc.
PhishugAiahing -- 111.
dividuds have rrportfd re-
ceiving email or text mes-
sages indicating a problem
with their acmunt. They are
directed to follow the link
pmvided in the message to
update their acmunt or cor-
rect the problem. The link
actually dire& them to a
fraudulent web site where
any information they enter
then falls into the hands of
the scammers.
The FBI offers the follow-
ing tips to avoid falling vic-
timtocyberfraud:
Do not respond to unso-
1
licited (spam) email mes-
s-.
. Do not click on links
contamed rvlthin a n unso-
,.
licited email.
AV,,~ tilling out furms
em;,i~ me.+3Lys that dsk
for personal mfo'mation.
Log on to official web
sites instead of ?Inking' to
them from an unsolicited
message.
Contact t h e actual
business t h a t supposedly
sent the message to venfy
its validity
The BBB has been sen.-
ing Mississippi consumers
and businesses since 1964.
Contact the BBB online a t
www.ms.bbb.oq or by phone
at 800-987-8280.