Cybercrime More Lucrative Than Drugs

prostoalex writes "Yahoo is reporting that global cybercrime overtook global drug trafficking in terms of revenue this past year. In related news, only 4% of Internet users can flag 100% of phishing e-mails as fraudulent, and Americans filed 207,000 reports on cybercrime to FBI."

New Slogan:

[Shadow Wrought]

Geeks! Now better than junkies.

Legalize hacking!

[Anonymous Coward]

So far, the only accomplishment of the War on Drugs has been to increase drug crime through by creating an artifical scarcity and high demand for product on the street.

This is equally true for cybercrime. If hacking were legalized, the seedy underworld associated with illegal hacking would wither away and vanish.

The only valid phishing emails...

[Anonymous Coward]

...come with the verified certificate of the Nigerian Verification Association. Accept no other phishing emails.

Re:I'm in the top 4% !!!

[eurleif]

Actually, that message wasn't really from your mom, it was a phishing attempt.

Re:Curbing malware and cyberthreats

[maelstrom]

I agree completely. I've noticed a similar problem on Slashdot which your solution seems to solve nicely. I recommend we limit posting access to all users who have a greater than 3 digit ID. Maybe raising the barrier of entry will prevent me from having to read half cocked ideas like limiting access to compilers.

fishing survey is bullshit

[Geekboy(Wizard)]

if you mark all of them as fraud, you 'fail' the test.

I consider all email from commercial entities as fraudulent.

Uhhh...

[GeeksHaveFeelings]

You mean there's a difference between those two?! I thought kiddies do drugs! It's an onomatopoeia!

Re:Curbing malware and cyberthreats

[the-build-chicken]

you're 100% correct...history has shown that limiting the number of thinkers that have access to a problem is a sure fire way to obtain the best solution

Re:10%

[grumpyman]

Undergraound economy... do you mean eBay?

Re:Curbing malware and cyberthreats

[reynaert]

I suggest that the field and the general user experience would be greatly enhanced by limiting access to compilers/assemblers

Hah! I shall SAVE THE WORLD with my carefully hidden away TURBO PASCAL 5.0 floppy!

The Old Days

[MightyMartian]

Back in the old days, we had to shovel coal into our computers. That was way back when Usenet traffic was passed via UUCP and by the sacrificing of virgins (never hard to find in CS departments way back when). Why, I remember alerts going "Keep signatures to 28 characters or someone will come and remove your testicles with a 7/16ths nut driver and some mouldy toast".

Re:New Slogan:

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey, geeks can use drugs to get women too. Its just that we use clorophorm instead of pot.

The obvious solution...

[paranode]

...is to legalize cybercrime.

/. fix

[paranode]

Hey man I'm a tech junkie, got any stuff? Stuff that matters?

Sales data?

[HermanAB]

How accurate can sales figures of illegal drugs and online fraudsters be? Do all drug dealers and fraudsters submit honest tax returns for their illegal sales?

You forgot caffeine and fast food

[catmistake]

Both those should be scheduled substances, too... espescially the latter.

Re:The Old Days

[hobbit]

You had floppies? Luxury! We used to have to carry each nybble of data in a separate trip...

(etc.)

Re:The obvious solution...

[Jon_E]

nah .. just promote them to high ranking government positions and have people randomly congratulate them on what a good job they've done.