Software Industry Announcements and News
Reported Dollar Loss from Internet Crime Reaches All-Time High
[ No Comments ] Posted on 04.11.08 under Government News
According to the 2007 Internet Crime Report, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 206,884 complaints of crimes perpetrated over the Internet during 2007. Of the complaints received, more than 90,000 were referred to law enforcement around the nation, amounting to nearly $240 million in reported losses. This represents a $40 million increase in reported losses from complaints referred to law enforcement in 2006. All complaints received by IC3 are accessible to federal, state, and local law enforcement to support active investigations, trend analysis, and public outreach and awareness efforts.
“The Internet presents a wealth of opportunity for would-be criminals to prey on unsuspecting victims, and this report shows how extensive these types of crime have become,” said FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director James E. Finch. “What this report does not show is how often this type of activity goes unreported. Filing a complaint through IC3 is the best way to alert law enforcement authorities of Internet crime.” Read the rest of this entry…
New FTC Videos Help Consumers Spot Phishing Scams
[ No Comments ] Posted on 04.07.08 under Government News, Security & Privacy
The Federal Trade Commission has released three 60-second videos to help alert consumers to phishing scams. Phishing uses deceptive spam to trick consumers into divulging sensitive or personal information, including credit card numbers and other financial data, through an email or a link to a “copycat” site. The goal of the videos is to offer practical, useful, and memorable messages.
The videos are the newest tool on OnGuardOnline.gov, the agency’s multimedia initiative to help consumers be on guard against Internet fraud, secure their computers, and protect their personal information. The award-winning site features tips, articles, how-to videos, interactive quizzes, and tutorials in English and Spanish. The new videos also will be featured on YouTube www.youtube.com/ftcvideos and on the FTC Web site at http://ftc.gov/bcp/edu/multimedia/video/ogol/phishing/index.shtml
ValueClick to Pay $2.9 Million to Settle FTC Charges
[ No Comments ] Posted on 03.27.08 under Government News
Online advertiser ValueClick, Inc., will pay a record $2.9 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that its advertising claims and e-mails were deceptive and violated federal law. The agency also charged that ValueClick and its subsidiaries, Hi-Speed Media and E-Babylon failed to secure consumers’ sensitive financial information, despite their claims to do so. The settlement, filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the FTC, requires ValueClick to clearly and conspicuously disclose the costs and obligations consumers must incur to receive the products it touts as “free” and bars future violations of the CAN-SPAM Act. The settlement also bars deceptive claims about the security of the consumer information collected at its e-commerce Web sites.
According to the FTC, ValueClick subsidiary Hi-Speed Media used deceptive e-mails, banner ads, and pop-ups to drive consumers to its Web sites. The e-mails and online ads claimed that consumers were eligible for “free” gifts, including laptops, iPods, and high-value gift cards, and included come-ons such as “Free PS3 for survey,” and “CONGRATULATIONS! Select your FREE Plasma TV.” The FTC alleged that consumers lured to ValueClick’s Web sites by these promises were led through a maze of expensive and burdensome third-party offers – including car loans and satellite television subscriptions – which they were required to “participate in” at their own expense, in order to receive the promised “free” merchandise. The FTC charged that ValueClick’s use of deceptively labeled e-mail offering free gifts and its failure to disclose that consumers must expend substantial sums of money to obtain the promised “free” merchandise violates the CAN-SPAM Act and the FTC Act. Read the rest of this entry…
Brothers Sentenced for Selling More than $6 Million in Pirated Software
[ No Comments ] Posted on 03.10.08 under Government News
WASHINGTON - Two brothers were sentenced today in federal court to 30 months and three years in prison for selling massive amounts of pirated computer software, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Chuck Rosenberg announced today.
At the federal court in Alexandria, Va., U.S. District Court Judge Claude M. Hilton sentenced Maurice A. Robberson, 48, to three years in prison and ordered him to pay $855,917 in restitution while his brother Thomas K. Robberson, 55, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $151,488 in restitution. On Nov. 7, 2007, Maurice Robberson pled guilty to conspiracy and felony copyright infringement, while his brother Thomas Robberson pled guilty to a single count of felony copyright infringement. Read the rest of this entry…
Judgment Entered Against Spyware Scammer
[ No Comments ] Posted on 03.10.08 under Government News
Trojan Program Downloaded Spyware, Adware, Porno Pop-Ups to Consumers’ Computers
A federal judge has granted the Federal Trade Commission’s request for a default judgment against a software developer who helped scammers infect millions of computers with destructive and intrusive spyware. The judgment bars the defendant from distributing software that interferes with consumers’ computers and requires that he give up his ill-gotten gains.
In November 2006, the FTC charged ERG Ventures, LLC, its principals, and their affiliate, Timothy P. Taylor, with tricking consumers into downloading malicious software by hiding it within seemingly innocuous free programs, including screensavers and video files. Once downloaded, the malware silently activated itself and installed programs that changed consumers’ home pages, tracked their Internet activity, altered browser settings, degraded computer performance, and disabled anti-spyware and anti-virus software. Many of the malware programs installed by the defendants were extremely difficult or impossible for consumers to remove from their computers. Read the rest of this entry…
FBI: St. Valentine’s Day E-Card Carries Storm Worm Virus
[ No Comments ] Posted on 02.12.08 under Government News
If you unexpectedly receive a Valentine’s Day e-card, be careful. It may not be from a secret admirer, but instead might contain the Storm Worm virus. Read the rest of this entry…