Online scams emerge in tsunami's wake

net1

Scam artists are posing as tsunami victims on the Internet in a bid to divert some of the millions of dollars flowing to relief efforts, security experts warned on Wednesday, according to a Reuters article.

Crudely written appeals for help have begun to appear in e-mail inboxes, asking for donations through a Web site or an offshore bank account, the analysts said.

"It's only a matter of time before ... we have fully fledged Web sites that spoof well-known charities, for example," said a spokesperson for Internet security company MessageLabs.

The fraudulent appeals are patterned after two existing scams: phishing attacks that direct people to legitimate-looking Web sites in order to trick them into giving up their credit card numbers, and 419 scams, messages that promise great riches in exchange for a bank account number.

rolfw

Amazing how low some people are prepared to sink.

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jaxom

Unfortuantely, there will always be some to try (and succeed in many cases) to profit from someone elses misfortune. A good way to avoid these scams is to go into a high street bank and hand money over the counter.

rolfw

Yes, good advice, if you want to donate, go via your online bank or charity, but always go direct, never follow an E-mail link.

PS. Jaxom, is that the Anne McAffrey character?

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jaxom

Sure is rolfw. Great series of books. I guess you've read them. My fav - All the Weyers of Pern.

Analoguesat

Ah another pern fan. I read all of them when I was off work for 2 months in the Autumn. A great way to escape being ill!

rolfw

Ah, what a great idea for a section, Sci-Fi literature, I can see that I am in good company. Having said that, probably haven't read a book in 10 years, but was an avid reader in my time.

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PaulR

Ah yes, Sci-Fi.

Looks like I was there as well. Some 30 years ago I was an avid reader and absorbed just about anything with a sci-fi connection. I read everything in the local library and had to move on to the next nearest to satisfy my cravigs.

I suppose things changed and I got out of the habit but recently I have been reading some new stuff. Steven Baxter is a very competent and knowlegable writer with a good solid scientific background. Spreading sideways to fantasy can I also strongly recommend Philip Pullman, especially the "His Dark Materials" trilogy. Don't let the children's author tag put you off.

PaulR

Any one else remember the short lived monthly magazine simply called "SF magazine". They specialised in beautiful renditions of the painted covers from SF books. I still have them in a binder somewhere.

Channel Hopper

I Ebayed off a few copies of SFX about six months ago. it was far too Hollywood for my taste .

As for reading , I will usually choose short stories over long ones, Larry Niven and Robert Sheckley make for very thought provoking stuff in condensed form.

As for films, not a lot has toppled Gattaca from my list (though The Arrival and Galaxy Quest are in the second and third slot)

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

jaxom

Apart from the Pern books I remember years ago reading the Lensman and Dequense series of books by E E 'Doc' Smith. Mostly read thrillers and (Clive Cussler now though.