Attacking Criminal Networks On the Internet 109
Hugh Pickens writes "Computer Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University are developing techniques to analyze and disrupt black markets on the internet, where criminals sell viruses, stolen data, and attack services estimated to total more than $37 million for the seven-month period they studied. To stem the flow of stolen credit cards and identity data, researchers have proposed two technical approaches to reducing the number of successful market transactions. One approach to disrupting the network is a slander attack where an attacker eliminates the verified status of a buyer or seller through false defamation. Another approach undercuts the cyber-crooks' network by creating a deceptive sales environment. 'Just like you need to verify that individuals are honest on E-bay, online criminals need to verify that they are dealing with "honest" criminals,' says Jason Franklin, one of the researchers."
The bad guys are already phishing on eBay (Score:5, Informative)
One of them has a very low buy-it-now listing, and a gmail address to contact to be a 'qualified' bidder.
Which one of them is fishing for your eBay creds? I see these all of the time; I collect and restore specific models of classic cars, and I see one of these almost every week. If you alert eBay through LiveChat, they'll usually take them down. But if you have report an auction through their mind-numbing 100 questions forms method, you'll never get a fraudulent auction done because you'll explode before you get to the end of forms-- none of which says--> HEY, THIS IS AN OBVIOUS FRAUD!
You can discredit sellers, but sellers have options to restore their dignity if they want to do this-- although it's tough. PayPal can also interecede, as can buyer credit sources. Resources, except in the complaints department, are tilted towards buyers. But that doesn't mean that there are loads of phish attempts. You find them in amusing places, like when I tried to surf for an Apple notebook, and there were a hundred auctions for the same machine-- if you bought the story about getting it shipped from Italy.