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Duo Use Spyware to Perpetrate ID Theft

A couple, also known as the "Bonnie and Clyde" of Identity Theft, moved bail on December 6, 2007 and went back to their native states. However, it seems they're the center of numerous federal probes also.

The FBI is at present thinking of pressing federal charges against University of Pennsylvania grads Jocelyn Kirsch and her young man, Edward Anderton.

As per the police, they guessed that the couple made almost $100,000 by thieving the IDs of their condominium neighbors in order to support a luxurious lifestyle. They can identify not more than five targets as yet, one of who suffered a loss of $30,000.

While probing the pair's residence, police alleged they discovered $17,500 in cash, lots of credit cards, false driving license, master key to open several of the condos and letter boxes in their apartment house, and a highly-developed machine to produce identity cards.

The duo had utilized the interesting technical know-how known as the Spector spyware program. It saves all details of their activities on the PC - their chats, instant messaging, electronic mail, the Internet sites they visit, what they seek, things they perform on MySpace, the photographs they post and view, the keystrokes they make, the applications they execute and lots more.

Moreover, owing to its sophisticated surveillance screen snapshot characteristics, the crackers can observe not only their activities, but also the specific sequence in which they gradually go about it.

As per Robert Graham, Errata Security's Security Executive, exploiting a profitable spyware for malevolent uses, like an identity theft, is quite easy, even for a criminal who lacks technical knowledge.

They would attack just by e-mailing the spyware program to their targets and purport it's a software upgradation, nude photos of Britney Spears or any other type of nonsense to lure their targets. After being deployed, the spyware inserts a keylogger or an application that can record all Internet activities.

Security investigators alerted that users ready to utilize these technical devices should realize the dangers linked with them. spyware is not the source of the trouble. It's user's awareness of the technology, the underlying threats and their skill to defend themselves.

Related article: D-Link’s CAPTCHA – A Big Question on Security

» SPAMfighter News - 12/19/2007

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