July 2, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

By Joe Campana 

While most of the country mourns the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, fraudsters seek opportunity by tricking heartbroken followers. The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) issued an alert today warning of increased spam campaigns, phishing attacks and malicious code attacks surrounding the star’s deaths. Some scams may result in identity theft.

Social engineering occurs when a fraudster takes advantage of a circumstance or creates situations to trick another person into doing something they would not normally do.  

The deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett surprised many people. An astounding number of people are caught up in the social media blitz. Even I Twittered about Thriller last night. Some fans may be distraught or shocked. These emotions provide a “mass vulnerability” that some fraudsters are exploiting to collect information and infect computers with malicious code.

Fraudsters have taken advantage of other situations to swindle personal information and money following national and worldwide disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the Asian Tsunami. In addition to phishing and malicious code attacks, there were many charity scams.

Expect to see charity and fan paraphernalia scams associated with Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon. Some of these scams will claim to collect donations from unsuspecting consumers for charitable causes supported by the late stars. Some scams may collect credit card and bank account information as payment for charitable donations or for the purchase of celebrity memorabilia. There will be no donations or souvenirs—the financial account information handed over will be used by the fraudsters to commit existing account fraud, a form of identity theft. Remember, fraud can occur through the internet as well as by phone, mail or in person.

The current US-CERT Alert warns the consumers of malicious emails designed to

• Record their email address, which can be used later by shady online marketers to send spam.
• Download malware to personal computer and PDAs when email recipients click on a link in the email. Malware include viruses, Trojan horses, spyware, adware, worms, etc.
• Lure unsuspecting people into a phishing scam.

To avoid these and other internet email scams, be cautious of unsolicited emails. Do not click on links in emails unless you are absolutely certain that you know the person that sent the email to you. Even then, be cautious because that person may have been the subject of a virus, and it was the virus that sent you a contaminated email from the person’s computer. Does the email look “out of character” from your friend? I recently received an awkwardly worded email from a local politico suggesting that I make purchases from an Asian online store. The email was out of character, and when I emailed him, he confirmed his computer was infected by a virus that sent me the email.

Keep your antivirus, anti malware software updated. New threats arise daily, so keep your protective software and operating system current.

http://www.examiner.com/x-9215-Identity-Theft-Examiner

Posted in Blogroll, HLD | Print | No Comments »

July 2, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

Newly appointed President Roberto Micheletti announced on 2 July 2009 that Honduras will reject a deadline issued by the Organization of American States (OAS) to return the country’s former president to power by 4 July. OAS leaders threatened to suspend Honduras from the international group if Micheletti refuses to allow former President Manuel Zelaya to return to the presidency. Zelaya stated that he will remain in Panama, where he has been since 1 July for Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli’s inauguration, and he is expected to return to Honduras after the deadline runs out on 4 July. Honduran leaders have issued an order to arrest Zelaya if he returns to the country.

In light of the continued tensions in Honduras, on 1 July Congress ratified a presidential decree shortening the curfew hours (it will now be in effect between 2200 and 0500 local time), but restricting individual liberties while the curfew is in effect. The new measure establishes that persons may be detained for more than 24 hours without communication and gives security officials the right to enter individuals’ homes without a judicial order. It also limits freedom of association, the right to organize demonstrations and the right to enter, exit or move freely about the country. The decree does not affect the media, which has begun broadcasting normally after several days of restrictions. Authorities claim that the new measure, which can be enforced no longer than 45 days, is designed to protect Hondurans from Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans who are allegedly attempting to incite civil unrest. Human rights activists claim that security officials have already detained prominent social leaders, have beaten and briefly detained Zelaya supporters and have been forcibly recruiting minors to their ranks; however, authorities deny these accusations.

Posted in HLD | Print | No Comments »

July 1, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

Posted in HLD | Print | No Comments »

June 30, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

employees_suffering_mistreatment.wav

This is Classic!

Posted in Blogroll | Print | No Comments »

June 30, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

http://bumperstickers.cafepress.com/item/honk-mortgage-sticker-bumper/363292318

Posted in HLD | Print | No Comments »

June 30, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

Something extraordinary will happen at

Washington, DC’s Newseum on July 3.

There, on the day before Independence Day, those who suffered through the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon will tell their stories. For the ages. It’s part of an oral history project sponsored by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, in partnership with StoryCorps.

Attack survivors, members of victims’ families, first responders, volunteer rescuers and other witnesses will record the horrors and heroics they witnessed that day. Their interviews will be maintained at the Library of Congress and become part of the permanent collection at the 9/11 memorial in New York. (While the interviews are being recorded, Newseum visitors will be able to sign one of the “I” beams that will be used in building the memorial.)

It’s important to preserve, forever, the memory of that murderous attack on the American homeland. If we forget the past, it may well revisit us again.

That said, let’s hope members of Congress will read some of these transcripts. It may remind them of their obligation to be ever-vigilant, and to give us laws that will keep us safe, free, and prosperous against a lurking transnational terrorist threat.

Sadly, this year the House on the Hill seems inclined to do anything but that. Here is a short list of really stupid pending legislation. Some entries exemplify “checkbook security”–measures that succeed in spending money, without improving our security.

Others exemplify “feel-good security”–bills that pretend to do something worthwhile, when it’s not. And some demonstrate “checklist security”–meaningless gestures that won’t accomplish much of anything. None of it is real security.

Topping the “dumb” list is a bill called “Providing for Additional Security in States Identification (PASS ID).” Despite its misleading title, PASS ID actually “takes a pass” at implementing a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission: Improving the security of identity credentials like driver’s licenses.

The bill would rescind key provisions of the REAL ID Act, which established national standards. One requirement eliminated is a system that allows states to readily cross-check their data bases to combat fraud and identity theft. While PASS ID wouldn’t roll back REAL ID in its entirety, it would leave us with something akin to a square fort with three walls.

Then there’s the proposed “Chemical Facility Antiterrorism Act.” The Department of Homeland Security has already established reasonable standards for chemical security, but they expire in October. Rather than just reauthorize the standards, this House bill would hijack the issue and force new regulations to advance an activist environmental agenda.

Under this bill, the government gets to decide what chemicals companies should be producing. And the criteria for this decision-making will be “green,” not security. While this will do little to make us safer, it is sure to drive some chemical companies out of business and encourage others to move operations–and jobs–overseas.

Also pending in the House is the “Homeowners Defense Act,” a bill to create a massive government insurance program–allegedly to help Americans recover after a catastrophic disaster. In reality, the main function of the bill is to force all taxpayers to subsidize insurance for folks who opt to live in beach houses in hurricane zones.

Beachfront property offers a pleasant but risky lifestyle, to be sure. But why should these property owners expect others to underwrite their risky behavior? And what in the world does it have to do with security?

And, of course, there’s the “Travel Promotion Act.” This bill proposes an unusual “solution” to the post-9/11 decline in foreign travel to the United States: Slap a tax on foreigners who do visit. The tax money, you see, would then pay for a government-sponsored ad campaign to encourage people to visit.

The geniuses in Congress are really onto something with this one, aren’t they? It could be the start of something really big. How about taxing foreigners who buy U.S. produced beef so the government could launch a “Buy Beef” campaign? Or maybe a special levy on foreigners who buy GM cars. You can almost see the U.S. steel flying off foreign showroom floors, can’t you?

Unfortunately, this through-the-looking-glass logic is all the rage on Capitol Hill. But piling up debt, raising taxes, growing government, strangling private industry, and repealing sound security measures will not make us safer. As unveiled so far this year, the Congressional agenda for homeland security so far just makes our legislative leaders look dumb and dumber.

Examiner Columnist James Jay Carafano is a senior research fellow for national security at The Heritage Foundation (www.heritage.org heritage.org)

Posted in Blogroll | Print | No Comments »

June 29, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

Posted in HLD | Print | No Comments »