Scams begin to target users of MySpace

Chicago Sun-Times ^ | 5/22/2006 | Stephanie Zimmermann

[Mike Bates]

With its easy sharing of jokes, gossip, photos and videos within a virtual community of young people, the Web site MySpace.com has rocketed to second place in worldwide popularity, with an estimated 78 million users.

But the site also has brought concerns about teens meeting strangers online. And now there's a new worry: a "phishing" scam that experts say could compromise teens' -- or their parents' -- financial information.

As with other phishing scams, in which con artists create realistic-looking Web sites using the names of well-known banks or other corporations, the MySpace scam tricks people into going to a copycat page and signing on. Once the user gets on the site, their computer can be infected with software that can later capture keystrokes typed while visiting legitimate banking or shopping sites, said Hiep Dang, director of threat research for Aluria Software, a division of EarthLink and a member of the Digital Knights fraud prevention group.

Looking for credit card numbers

Scam artists can use computer programs to sort through the captured keystroke information, looking for sequences that appear to be credit card numbers, PINs or passwords. Other scams involve MySpace profiles that are completely fake and lead to links that can infect your computer, Dang said.

[Mike Bates]

. . .a "phishing" scam that experts say could compromise teens' -- or their parents' -- financial information.

Teens? Heck, I know people in their 30s who are on MySpace. Of course, they're not exactly rocket scientists. . .

[cripplecreek]

I started a myspace account and within an hour I had 3 new friends inviting me to view their "hot" and "sexy" webcams. For a price of course.

[Mike Bates]

Oh, I'm sorry. Was that you? :)

[weegee]

I've been seeing a lot more of these phishing scams on myspace.

The operators of myspace even be deleting these bulletins automatically (since the headline is always the same) once they are notified, but who knows how many have been infected/affected up to that point?

And Myspace is keeping quiet and not talking to the users about these scams.

----

How they work:
A bulletin appears on the sidebar (the only bulletins you can see are those posted by people you have identified as your friends, and if you drop that friend his/her bulletins will all disappear from your view).

The headline of the bulletin will be something like:
"See my pics from last night"
This being a social network, announcements of parties, concerts, cookouts, etc and followups is not uncommon.

You open the bulletin and there is a link "see them here".

Well there is the available option to blog photos in myspace (if you have offsite storage someplace) but currently Myspace only permits users to have 12 photos hosted on their site (in the profile area). So offsite hosting is generally a given.

There are a variety of sites that host photos, some use an album view. SOME may even require you to register to view the friends (wouldn't want "non-friends" to see privileged photos).

When you click that button to begin to register, your myspace account is compromised. AND it reposts that bulletin you opened with YOUR name as the sender. Now some myspace users are unaware this has happened. Others are lazy and don't realize that they can delete the fraudulent bulletin.

I've seen some other bulletin headlines lately, things like:

"This is F***in crazy"

With an inside link that says, "I'm not even going to spoil it for you, just click here".

----

The tip off is when you see 3 copies of this same bulletin with NO additional comments from the person who reposts it.

I have given up on registering online (even away from myspace) for any service that I need to "join" just to see a friend's damned postcard or invitation. And that goes for evite too. Give me the message or give me the details, and that is all.

I still use myspace but I don't follow the links on a goosechase. If the poster cannot be bothered to go into detail explaining WHY I need to click something, I can't be bothered with it anymore.

Some of them are just goofy YouTube videos. Fine, tell me who it's a video for and then I decide if I want to watch it. But non-descriptive headlines are a real turnoff for me there.

I figure with 78million Myspace users worldwide, this post has to make sense to at least a few FReepers.

[cripplecreek]

The woman who invited me to start an account there is a cop I met here at FR. When I signed up and started looking for her account I found that it says she's 14. I asked her about it and she said "fishing, but don't worry, you already know I'm an adult cop".

[weegee]

There are 78million myspace users. I with that one damned journalist would join and realize that there are a lot more than teens on it and it serves much more function than just a "swingers" club.

Yahoo never got tainted with that label even though it had teens and predators too.

Myspace started out as an 18+ network.

Friendster too. Why isn't Friendster ever called out as a place "for teens and predators"?

[Mike Bates]

Maybe she just meant that she feels like she's 14.

[cripplecreek]

I wouldn't know, I've never felt her. :~O

[Mike Bates]

. . . it serves much more function than just a "swingers" club.

Definitely. From what I've seen, it's also a hotbed of anti-Bush enthusiasts. Rather like DU, only with folks who can't spell.

Then again, I haven't spent a lot of time there.

[weegee]

I set my age into the 90s. That eliminates some (not all) of the people I don't know from searching for my zipcode, sex, and age from finding me in a search.

I still have over 300 associates on myspace (not all are good friend but they are people I personally know). I'll probably prune that back down to 200-250. There are some bands I have on there I know members of.

I've seen women in their 20s and 30s set their age to 14/15. I don't think any good can come of that.

Does you police officer friend have that age as a joke or bait for predators?

[Mike Bates]

Lemme see if I can serve up another softball. . .

[cripplecreek]

She says she's fishing.

[weegee]

ANY forum is a hotbed of anti-Bush enthusiasts.

That isn't because there aren't Republicans on apolitical sites, it is because Republicans tend to keep discussions of politics and religion out of general discussion. Keep away from heated debate when you have gathered to talk about old rock and roll records, cult movies, or DVD players, etc.

The left misses no opportunity to smear the opposition and will post off topic rants. Their isolated statements serve as the "final word".

I am aware of at least one other FReeper on myspace. He doesn't post so often on FR these days but he wasn't banned. He moved and was working on his new situation (work, friends, etc.).

[Cagey]

You may want to recommend this site to her:

http://www.carp.com/

[daviddennis]

This is one of the funniest things I've ever read. (Relax, no registration or personal information required to see it.)

It's about a very clever guy who managed to take Myspace down for almost a week. I don't think it was deliberate, but he did it anyway.

Myspace is obviously a rather dangerous environment in many respects. It's unfortunate people wind up messing up the freedom they are given there.

D

[weegee]

So if she receives a sexually explicit email from a minor (say 14-16, within the bounds of Romeo and Juliet laws), is she guilty of being a predator if she responds?

At what point (short of arranged meeting) is she certain that she isn't communicating with a minor and being a "predator" herself? Intent?

[weegee]

That link URL begins "www.namb.la"

That's all I need to see.

[weegee]

I've been on myspace since 2004 and have never seen it down for more than a day (and I think that was the California power outage).

[Mike Bates]

Thanks. About the only part I got was:
Well, the most popular profiles on myspace pretty much consist of people with the IQ and English delivery skills of Kanye West. . .

[Hammerhead]

If you're over 35 and you're on MySpace, you/ve definetly got maturity (lack of) issues.