Tag Archive for: woman

Woman who scanned QR code with malware lost $20k to bubble tea survey scam while she was sleeping

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SINGAPORE – She visited a bubble tea shop and saw a sticker pasted on its glass door, encouraging customers to do an online survey to get a free cup of milk tea.

Enticed by what seemed like a good deal, the 60-year-old scanned the QR code on the sticker and downloaded a third-party app onto her Android phone to complete the “survey”.

That night, as she was sleeping, her mobile phone suddenly lit up.

Thanks to the app she had downloaded, scammers used it to take over her device and moved $20,000 from her bank account.

Worryingly, she is not the only victim of such malware scams.

In April, the police and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore warned the public about downloading apps from dubious sites that can lead to malware being installed onto victims’ mobile phones.

They said such malware has resulted in confidential and sensitive data, including banking credentials, being stolen.

That month, the police also alerted the public to the resurgence of phishing scams involving malware installed on victims’ Android phones. The police had said that since March, there have been at least 113 victims who lost at least $445,000.

The case of the bubble tea survey scam was related to The Sunday Times by Mr Beaver Chua, head of anti-fraud at OCBC Bank’s group financial crime compliance department, last week.

He said: “While malware scams are not particularly new, scammers are getting increasingly innovative.

“Besides website pop-up banners, which are most common, pasting bogus QR codes outside F&B establishments is another cunning way to hook victims as consumers may not be able to differentiate between legitimate and malicious QR codes.”

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Woman scammed out of $24,500 

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By Jon Johnson

[email protected]

GRAHAM COUNTY – In an all-too-common theme, an elderly woman was a victim of an online scam that ended up costing her $24,500. 

According to a Graham County Sheriff’s Office report, the victim said she initially received an e-mail stating it was from McAfee and that her computer security was on auto payment for renewal at $499 for three years of service. The email also advised of a phone number to call if the customer had any questions or complaints. 

The email was not really from the software company, however, and no bill would’ve been charged. Scammers want you to call the phone number to complain. That is how they get to move a mark onto the next step. 

Once the victim called the “helpline” a person informed her that to fix the problem she would have to download a program called “My Desk” so he could work remotely on her computer. The person said once that was complete he would be able to refund the victim’s money in two $250 payments. Afterward, he said a mistake had been made and he accidentally transferred $25,000 into her account. 

The con man then instructed the victim to withdraw $24,500 in small bills and sent it to an address in Houston, Texas. The victim did as instructed and withdrew the money and sent it overnight by UPS. 

When the victim later pulled up her checking account, she realized the transfer never went through and her bank advised it never saw any pending transfer to her account. 

The victim told the officer that she was going to close her bank accounts and open new ones and have someone “clean” her computer for viruses so the scammers no longer have access to it. 

Four Signs That It’s a Scam

1. Scammers PRETEND to be from an organization you know.

Scammers often pretend to be contacting you on behalf of the government. They might use a real name, like the Social Security Administration, the IRS, or Medicare, or make up a name that sounds official. Some pretend to be from a business you know, like a utility company, a tech company, or even a charity asking for donations.

They use technology to change the phone number that…

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Woman Shot After Opening Fire Inside Dallas Love Field Airport – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

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What to Know

  • Gunfire was reported inside Dallas Love Field Airport just after 11 a.m.
  • A woman was transported from the scene by Dallas Fire-Rescue after police say she fired several rounds inside the airport.
  • Rockwall Chief of Police Max Geron was in the TSA security line and told NBC 5 he heard several shots near a ticket counter.

A woman pulled out a gun inside Dallas Love Field Airport late Monday morning and began shooting toward the ceiling, Dallas police say. The woman, who witnesses said was yelling about her marriage, was confronted and shot by officers. No other injuries have been reported.

Dallas Chief of Police Eddie Garcia said the woman, identified only as a 37-year-old, was dropped off at the airport just before 11 a.m. and that once inside she went into a restroom and changed clothes.

Garcia said the woman exited the restroom wearing a hoody or something other than what she arrived in, pulled out a gun and started firing several shots. Most of the shots, Garcia said, appeared to be directed toward the ceiling.

“At this point, we don’t know where exactly the individual was aiming. From what we are seeing she was aiming at the ceiling,” Garcia said. ” There are several rounds that were found.”

Officers inside the airport confronted the woman and shot her in her lower extremities. The woman was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in an unknown condition. No further information about her or the motivation behind the shooting or who dropped her off at the airport has been confirmed by police.

Cell phone video shared with NBC 5 showed travelers on the ground, behind chairs at the gates and sheltering in place while the shooting unfolded.

The investigation is ongoing and Garcia said he expects elements to change as more is learned about what happened. Dallas Police said they do not plan to release any other statements until Tuesday afternoon. Agents with the Dallas FBI’s field office were seen at the airport along with Dallas Police. The FAA told NBC 5 that the incident is a police matter.

WITNESS SAYS SHOOTER SAID HER HUSBAND WAS CHEATING

Colby James spoke with NBC 5 Monday afternoon and said he was standing near the woman when she pulled out a…

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Woman convicted in massive Capital One hack – Hartford Courant

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A federal jury on Friday convicted a former Seattle tech worker of several charges related to a massive hack of Capital One bank and other companies in 2019.

Paige Thompson, 36, a former Amazon software engineer who used the online handle “erratic,” obtained the personal information of more than 100 million people — a data breach that prompted Capital One to reach a tentative $190 million settlement with affected customers. The Treasury Department also fined the company $80 million for failing to protect the data.

Following a seven-day trial, the Seattle jury found her guilty of wire fraud, unauthorized access to a protected computer and damaging a protected computer. The jury acquitted her of other charges, including access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Thompson’s attorneys argued that she struggled with mental health issues, never intended to profit from the data she obtained, and said in court papers “there is no credible or direct evidence that a single person’s identity was misused.”

Federal prosecutors said she didn’t just steal the data, but also planted software on servers she unlawfully accessed to steal computing power to mine cryptocurrency.

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“Far from being an ethical hacker trying to help companies with their computer security, she exploited mistakes to steal valuable data and sought to enrich herself,” Seattle U.S. Attorney Nick Brown said in a news release.

Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, while the other charges can bring a five-year maximum. U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik is scheduled to sentence Thompson in September.

In interviews with The Associated Press following her arrest, friends and associates described Thompson as a skilled programmer and software architect whose career and behavior — oversharing in chat groups, frequent profanity, expressions of gender-identity distress and emotional ups and downs — mirrored her online handle.

At one point, two former roommates obtained a protection order against her, saying she had been stalking and harassing them.

Thompson joined Amazon in 2015 to work at Amazon Web…

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