Somebody got caught

Brazilian federal police arrested 45 people believed to be involved in a scheme to embezzle money from bank accounts through the Internet.

The police operation, supported by the Brazilian army, began in December 2004 and came as a result of court orders to seize suspects, documents and equipment used to perpetrate these crimes.

The criminals had been sending messages to victims through e-mail and social networking service Orkut in order to obtain passwords and other sensitive data with which to access their bank accounts.

Money was then transferred to other bank accounts via Internet banking and used for shopping and to pay their bills.

An American woman that unknowingly helped Nigerian scammers get money out of their victims, has helped police track down the criminals.

The lure is just too great: a low-level player begins at $900 a month - more than three times the average salary in Nigeria.

Ilva Pieterse, ITWeb journalist

Shirley Garza had applied to a company that would allow her to "work-from-home" as a shipping manager, but it tuned out to be a scam.

The scam worked like this: the scammers would agree to buy something on eBay for a certain amount (say $1 000) but they needed it shipped to Africa.

They would write a (bad) cheque for $3 000 and send it to the seller, asking them to please send the difference ($2 000) to their shipping manager in America, in this case Garza. And of course, the cheque would bounce.

For nine months Garza worked with the police to track down scammers. Although ring leader William Emery was arrested, there are always other scammers willing to fill the void.

The lure is just too great: apparently a low-level player begins at $900 a month which is more than three times the average salary in Nigeria.

Two men accused of using technology to aid terrorists have been arrested in Indonesia.

Agung Prabowo helped create a Web site that suggested ways to assassinate foreigners in Jakarta, with tips such as "ensure the target is killed by shooting him several times in the heart and head".

Agung Seyadi bought a computer for a jailed Bali bomber who planned to use it to illicitly collect funds for terrorist attacks.

The jailer is awaiting a death sentence on charges of planning and carrying out the 2002 Bali attacks.

So the bad guys got the sentences. But what to do with those annoying spammers?

A UK teenager has received a two-month curfew for sending five million e-mails to a former employee and crashing the entire system.

David Lennon, 18, was in breach of the Computer Misuse Act which outlaws unauthorised access and unauthorised modification of computer material.

Lucky for him, the prosecution dropped its demand for him to pay the $55 000 his annoyance caused. Talk about burning bridges!

Wikipedia`s entry on "vandalism" was vandalised this week, prompting the entry`s page lock down.

Wikipedia once again needs to consider changing some of its open-door, anyone-can-edit policies. Last year, a posting incorrectly linked the assassination of Robert F Kennedy to a former administrative assistant.

So remember, its all fun and games until somebody gets caught!

Sources used: People Daily, WCPO, Hindu Times, Techweb