July 21, 2009
Work-at-Home Scams and the Storm Worm Virus
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Work-at-Home Scams
The Internet Complaint Centre continues to receive numerous complaints from people who have fallen victim to work-at-home scams.The jobs are often advertised that require the successful applicant to 'process payments,' 'reship products' or 'transfer funds'. These work-at-home job scams involve the victims receiving and cashing fraudulent checks, receiving stolen goods and shipping it to criminals, or transferring illegally obtained funds for the criminals.
Another type of work-at-home scam advertises for a 'mystery shopper,' which involves receiving fraudulent checks with instructions to cash the checks and wire the funds to 'test' a company’s services. Victims are told they will be compensated with a portion of the merchandise or funds.
Work-at-home schemes can attract innocent people who then become part of criminal schemes without realizing they are engaging in illegal behavior.
Job scams and work-at-home scams often provide criminals the opportunity to commit identity theft when victims provide their personal information, sometimes even bank account information, to their potential 'employer.' The criminal [employer] can then use the victim's information to open credit cards, post on-line auctions, and register websites in the victim's name to commit additional crimes.
If you have been a victim of Internet crime, please file a complaint at www.ic3.gov.
Storm Worm Virus
Be on the alert for spam e-mail spreading malicious software [malware] which mentions 'F.B.I. vs. facebook.'The e-mail directs you to click on a link to view an article about the FBI and Facebook. Once you click on the link, the 'Storm Worm' malware is downloaded, causing your device to become infected with the virus and part of the Storm Worm botnet.
A botnet is a network of compromised computers under the control of a single user. Botnets are typically set up to support criminal activity such as spam e-mail, identity theft, denial of service attacks, and spreading malware to other machines on the Internet.
Remember to be wary of any e-mail received from someone you don't know. Do not open any unsolicited e-mail and do not click on any links provided in the email or any attachments. Remember - always watch for scams!
Steve