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The Almighty Buck Crime Security

FBI: Social Media, Virtual Currency Fraud Becoming a Huge Problem 39

coondoggie writes: Criminals taking advantage of personal data found on social media and vulnerabilities of the digital currency system are two of the emerging Internet law-breaking trends identified by the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in its annual look at online crime. The IC3 said 12% of the complaints submitted in 2014 contained a social media trait. Complaints involving social media have quadrupled over the last five years. In most cases, victim’s personal information was exploited through compromised accounts or social engineering.
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FBI: Social Media, Virtual Currency Fraud Becoming a Huge Problem

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  • The FBI is not really the correct authority to deal with this problem. It should really be an empowered communications authority that works with local and federal policing agencies to track and prosecute these communications network crimes. It could certainly escalate up to a federal investigation but the initial response should be much more readily accessible to the public and a focus on fines for poor network behaviour. This then escalating up to agents in the field for more intense investigation, not co

    • What are the constitutional bounds of this 'empowered communications authority'? If, as you say, it could 'escalate up' to a federal investigation, you are implying it would be something with lesser authority.

      We don't need 'World Cyber Police' yet. There isn't a democratic framework for it to operate within.

      • We don't need 'World Cyber Police' yet. There isn't a democratic framework for it to operate within.

        But we do since cyber crime almost always crosses state, and federal boundaries. Usually on purpose to make investigation harder. But you are correct in that setting up something like this and not having it abused will be very hard.

        • by rtb61 ( 674572 )

          Which is why you tend to limit it to minor fines, a simple network traffic authority and for more severe crimes you escalate it to a full investigation by other authorities. It means a lot of current major felonies in terms of computer and network crimes drop to misdemeanour's and fines but they are much more readily applied, in much the same context as a speeding fine or a parking fine. So an administrative regulatory authority. The main feature being skilled people who can keep up with computer crimes an

  • by Anonymous Coward
    Look at all the fucking criminals at the top of the banking foodchain and tell me the real problem isn't with the US dollar... Bailouts? AKA paid to royally screw up, and with taxpayer dollars? Central bankers are the problem. The solution is obviously to decentralize the system.
  • That really sums up the inherent, intentional dysfunction in American "justice".

    • ... and then everyone that they took advantage of...

      that lost everything...

      got nothing...

      unless you consider s completely destroyed credit history something...

  • by X.25 ( 255792 ) on Thursday May 21, 2015 @02:03AM (#49741709)

    It's ok, they just slap some silly fine and noone goes to jail.

    But virtual currency fraud is a really serious one.

    • Real currency fraud is actually less common these days then cyber crime. I mean who carries cash anymore?
  • Complaints (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Earthquake Retrofit ( 1372207 ) on Thursday May 21, 2015 @02:09AM (#49741725) Journal

    Complaints involving social media have quadrupled over the last five years.

    Perhaps usage of online social media has also quadrupled over the last five years.

    • Yeah, well what ever and stuff because you would have had no idea that social media leaks and Bitcoin theft have been on the rise because, fuck, Bitcoin didn't even exist that long ago and stuff but the FBI has done a lot of forensics, probably via spectrometric analysis of finger prints and DNA and stuff to give you this information that you would have never in your wildest dreams have ever thought possible and stuff.

      • ...Bitcoin theft have been on the rise because, fuck, Bitcoin didn't even exist that long ago and stuff...

        But EverQuest fraud and gold theft was a problem and was worked on by the FBI. As I remember, some fraud rings were found to have stolen millions of US Dollars worth of gold and other items.

    • Hey! What a coincidence! These two must be correlated -- not necessarily causative; yes!

      (Also posting to fix my accidental moderation)

  • If you are on a website with a user name, I defend your right to act like an idiot. You act like an idiot and let the moderator of that specific website sort it out. But, if you are talking to people who actually exist, that you know, or even a celebrity and you make death threats or hateful comments, then I believe you should still be able to be prosecuted and fined at the least. The only problem is who is to say someone else wasn't using your user name, IP, or anything that could be hacked, spoofed, or
    • by koan ( 80826 )

      If you use your phone with Facebook, they know exactly who you are, as does any other site.

      Because Facebook (and others) can instantly check that data attached to the phone, you may want to ponder why that is possible.
      And then be sensible and "delete" your Facebook account.

      • If you use your phone with Facebook, they know exactly who you are, as does any other site.

        Only if you use the app. The web site can not get your private data via the web browser.

        • by koan ( 80826 )

          Maybe, Normally I would agree with that, but I wouldn't be surprised to find out otherwise.

          In any case I would imagine most use the app.

    • by nbauman ( 624611 )

      But, if you are talking to people who actually exist, that you know, or even a celebrity and you make death threats or hateful comments, then I believe you should still be able to be prosecuted and fined at the least.

      Hateful comments? Call somebody a Nazi, go to jail.

      • Hateful comments? Call somebody a Nazi, go to jail.

        They can get stronger. Brows Slashdot at -1 and see...

  • IC3 GTFO

BLISS is ignorance.

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