The mobile industry is famous for predictions of the next big thing which do not come true. For several years, before the introduction of touch screen smartphones, we were confidently told that ‘this will be the year of 3G’. Indeed this happened so frequently that...
By Dilip Mistry The BBC recently published a story on the growth of China as a hub for cyber-criminal activity and mobile fraud. Amongst the various scams outlined, originally from a Trend Micro report called The Mobile Cyber Criminal Underground Market in China, were the ability...
By Andy Gent Back in November we wrote about two phone hackers making the FBI’s Most Wanted list for cyber-crime. It seems that Farhan Arshad and Noor Aziz Uddin were not the only phone fraud criminals that were under the watchful eye of the US Government...
By Andy Gent Interesting news from Barcelona where the local police force have managed to crack a crime syndicate that had been using a premium number scam to defraud mobile operators. Premium number frauds are not uncommon. Typically, fraudsters will purchase premium numbers in international countries and...
By Andy Gent Warnings issued by the UK's mobile operators to customers using text-message-relaying apps indicate this latest fad could be used for generating SMS bypass, a fraudulent activity on the network. The apps exploit the unlimited text allowance subscribers receive from the operator and the ability...
By Mark Yelland My next door neighbour knocked on my door yesterday, in a bit of a panic. She had received a phone call from someone working in a ‘Fraud Department’ claiming that someone abroad was trying to get money from her online account. Would I...
By Andy Gent Fascinating new visuals show a two-month snapshot of text messaging spam being sent across the United States. At $199, database lists of 50,000 mobile subscribers, including personal information, are cheap and easy to get hold of, and have been a major factor in...
By Dilip Mistry In response to the increasingly sophisticated methods being used to target and defraud Ghanaian citizens, SpyGhana.com is calling for greater awareness with the introduction of a ‘Fraud Prevention’ month. The proposed annual event would be designed to give private and public organisations involved...
By Dilip Mistry Germany's interior minister Hans-Peter Friedrich’s claims that the hacking of Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone was giving rise to "conspiracy theories" underestimated the reality. US National Security Agency’s silent response to the allegations that American spies had eavesdropped on the German Chancellor’s mobile phone took...
By Shane Wilson Fraudsters are moving from email to embrace text messages (SMiShing) and voice calling (Vishing) to gather personal information or gain control of a user’s device. This shift in focus is due to advances in email spam filters and consumer awareness of email scams...