Forex

Years back, Media Connect Asia (who run the Singapore-based website itjournoasia.com) asked me what subject I always cover. "Security," I answered. "It's like the little black dress--it never goes out of style."

Still true. We could fill these pages with nothing but security warnings, threat reports, arguments over defense mechanisms. Computer security could take over our magazine. But let's not let it take over our lives--stay aware, stay sensible, and try to strike the middle ground between risk and control.

There are a few basic rules which should be repeated: never ever click on an embedded email link unless it's from a trusted source. Check your emails carefully--scammers hope to panic you into revealing information. Suppose you have a PayPal account and you receive an "urgent" message from "service@paypal.com" telling you to click on a link and type in your information to stop a potential attack on your account. But a half-second glance at the return email shows it came from "paypal@service.com," and the embedded link will take you to a fake website that looks like PayPal, but is actually connected directly to a criminal organization harvesting your username and password.

Pause, breathe, check things over. It's the same thing with phone fraud: the bad guys want to put you in panic-mode so you're not thinking about security. Never give out your password or confidential info to a stranger on the phone. Ask them for their name. Then their phone number. Tell them you'll call them back. Think security. Be polite, and suspicious.

Although security is deadly serious, you can find entertaining sidelights. Take 419eater.com: a site dedicated to reverse-scams pulled on would-be online scammers. The "419" scams are named after the Nigerian criminal code 419, which deals with advance-fee fraud. You can find more info at Advance-fee fraud - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, which documents the nefarious phenomenon, or Beware of Job Scams : Job Scams : Scams : 419 Scam : Nigerian Scams : Employment Scams : Job Scam : Fake Job Offer : Fraudulent Jobs : Hoax : Nigeria Jobs : Fake Recruiters : Fake Shipping Companies : Naval Jobs : Overseas Jobs : Oil-offshore-marine..

Of course, not all cybercriminals are located in Africa, but many techniques used by scammers worldwide were created or refined by Nigerian criminals, who stole from people using postal mail scams, then broadened their scope with the advent of the Internet. The 419eater.com site is loaded with tales of reverse-scambaiting that are hilarious (if you're easily offended, you might prefer Main Page - aa419, another dedicated site).

Don't EVER try reverse-baiting an online scammer unless you are dedicated and informed of the risks. They specialize in spinning tales of woe, but make no mistake: these are hardened criminals who have no scruples regarding your money, personal details, or credit history. The first place to start reading 419eater.com should be http://www.419eater.com/html/419faq.htm: heed the warnings.

For fun, check the Letters Archive. Some of these tales are very long, involving months of correspondence between would-be scammers and scambaiters, but they play out like humorous thrillers with character-interplay, twists and counter-attacks. The purpose of the criminal is obvious, but the purpose of the scambaiter is to force the bad guys to stay busy, tying up resources they might otherwise use to fool other victims. The creativity of the scambaiters is breathtaking: one of them, who goes by the name Shiverme Timbers, had a scammer carve a Commodore 64 keyboard replica out of rosewood and mail it! (http://www.419eater.com/html/john_boko.htm (scroll down, it's the SECOND wood-carving he commandeered from this scammer).

A tactic used by scammers is to create more than one identity-for example, the "poor suffering victim" and a "lawyer" detailing how to send bank details. The scambaiters often use the same approach: starting with a sympathetic individual who is willing to send large sums of money (whetting the criminals' appetite), but on the way to the airport they suddenly disappear, leaving "another" individual with an envelope of banknotes addressed to...the scammer. And of course entire newspaper pages (complete with hilarious spoof advertisements) can be created and emailed as "proof" of the shocking new developments.