Spam the 'tool of choice` for fraudsters

Security company McAfee says spam is quickly becoming the tool of choice for Internet fraudsters. It says online scammers are using spam to commit fraud as well as "steal" users` identities. And law enforcement officials in the US agree with the National Association of Attorneys-General, saying identity theft "is one of the fastest growing crimes in the nation".

Consumers lost more than $17 million last year to online fraud, according to the Internet Fraud Complaint Centre. Law enforcement officials and security experts at McAfee.com say spam is often used to target unsuspecting consumers and lure them to "official looking" Web sites - such as a billing centre for an online service provider or the front page of a mortgage information form. When users enter passwords, social security numbers or credit card information, the information may be taken and used or sold by identity thieves.

CBROnline reports that Cray has raised $10 million in new financing from institutional investors in the form of common stock and warrants sold under the company`s shelf-registration statement.

"We are now engaged in multiple major projects which are sufficiently large that acquiring additional working capital is prudent," said the company`s chairman and CEO, Jim Rottsolk.

Cray recently won a $9 million contract with the US Army for its CrayX1 supercomputers, and is also ironing out a $90 million contract with the Department of Energy`s Sandia National Laboratories as part of Sandia`s Red Storm supercomputer development project. [More at CBROnline (Registration required)]

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