Phishers lure people to fax away

Phishers have added a new lure to their tackle boxes: e-mails that ask people to fax sensitive information to bogus security investigators, silicon.com reports.

In a new scam, the e-mails direct people to a Microsoft Word document hosted on a Web site and urges them to download the form, fill it out and fax it to a toll-free number, Sophos said. The form asks for credit card information.

"We`ve seen a few attempts of this in the last few days, where phishers are trying out a new technique with people who have learned their lesson about filling out forms on a Web site," said senior technology consultant for Sophos, Graham Cluley.

WorldCom`s former CFO Scott Sullivan was yesterday sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the $11 billion accounting fraud that led to the company`s bankruptcy, techworld.com reports.

Sullivan pleaded guilty to fraud, conspiracy and filing false financial documents last year. Co-operated with prosecutors led to a letter to Judge Barbara Jones recommending a reduced sentence.

WorldCom, now operating under the name MCI, filed for bankruptcy in July 2002 after disclosing that employees had falsified records to conceal losses and inflate earnings.

During the past week, four other former WorldCom executives have been sentenced.

Norway-based Opera Software has begun distributing a browser for midrange mobile phones that would not normally be able to run a Web browser.

CnetNews reports that Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner says Opera Mini "is something you can run on the average phone. We see this as a great way to expand the Internet into a new market."

Opera Mini works by shifting most page-rendering responsibilities from the phone itself to a remote server. On that server, Opera "pre-processes" a Web page before sending a stripped-down version to the phone.

After much controversy in the gaming world, Take2 Interactive, distributor of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, has released a patch making it impossible to view sex scenes hidden in the game.

The scenes were uncovered by Patrick Wildenborg, a games modifier and accessed through a patch called "Hot Coffee", vnunet.com reports.

"If your copy for PC has been altered by the unauthorised Hot Coffee download circulating on the Internet, or if you wish to prevent your version from being so altered, download and install the patch for your version of the game," said a company statement. "These patches prevent and remove the Hot Coffee modification."