DUBLIN, Ireland - Ireland has become the first country on earth to cut off direct-dialed calls to entire nations in a bid to crack down on Internet-based fraud. The crackdown, announced this week and due to come into force Oct. 4, will block calls to 13 locations — all but one of them far-flung islands — to deter fraudsters from breaking into people's computers and hijacking their modems for profit. The government-appointed Commission for Communications Regulation said it was obliged to act after receiving more than 300 complaints this year from Internet users who discovered that their connections had been...
