Monday January 17, 2011
Social network users now easy targets for criminals
PETALING JAYA: Forget about bringing criminals to book, the crooks are themselves going to the book – Facebook, that is.
Many are targeting Malaysians – via their personal details posted on Facebook.
They are lifting information such as addresses, telephone numbers and even photographs for crimes ranging from drug trafficking to blackmail and sexual harassment.
Experts have criticised Malaysians for being too naive in accepting “friendship” requests from strangers.
Last year alone, some 400 crimes involving Facebook were reported to a cyber security group.
The trend is worrying because an international survey last year revealed that Malaysians had the most number of friends on social networking websites like Facebook with an average of 233 each – and spent up to nine hours each week logged on.
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Beware the Facebook felons
Monday, January 17, 2011
Beware the Facebook felons
Monday January 17, 2011
Beware the Facebook felons
By P. ARUNA
aruna@thestar.com.my
PETALING JAYA: Crooks are cashing in on personal details readily revealed by some Facebook users and using them in identity frauds, blackmail or to “steal” money from users.
Over-excited online social network users who reveal personal information and accept “friendship” requests from complete strangers have made the site an increasingly popular target for cybercriminals.
Many users, especially beginners, experience culture shock when they suddenly become “popular” and receive many friendship requests, said criminologist and Malaysian Association of Certified Fraud Examiners president Datuk Akhbar Satar.
“They feel encouraged to reveal more information about themselves without realising the damage it could cause,” he said, adding that many users even posted sexy or nude pictures of themselves on the website and ended up being blackmailed by complete strangers.
Akhbar said the practice of posting personal details such as birth dates, addresses and telephone numbers on the website had proven to be the source of a lucrative business for identity fraudsters.
“The crime triangle comprises elements of desire, target and opportunity. Once there is a desire to commit the crime, the criminal identifies the target and opportunity. This is where Facebook comes in,” he said.
According to Socialbakers.com, a website dedicated to global Facebook statistics, there are currently 9,874,860 Facebook users in Malaysia alone, which is 37.75% of the entire population.
Youths between the ages of 18 and 25 formed the majority of Malaysian users – 38% – while the youngest group, aged between 13 and 15, makes up 7% of users.
The gender ratio of Malaysians on Facebook is almost equal – with 53% of them being female.
Hackers operating on social networks can easily create fake profiles and send friendship requests to unsuspecting users within their target groups.
Many users have become victims of identity frauds, harassment, blackmail and have lost money through various scams operated via the website.
There have also been reports of gangs and drug syndicates in Malaysia recruiting members through Facebook and other social networks.
The criminals’ job is made easier as the name and profile picture of the user is visible to all via the websites’ default privacy settings.
“Unlike crimes committed in the physical world, cyber crimes require little or no investment,” said Akhbar, adding that such crimes were also difficult to detect.
Beware the Facebook felons
By P. ARUNA
aruna@thestar.com.my
PETALING JAYA: Crooks are cashing in on personal details readily revealed by some Facebook users and using them in identity frauds, blackmail or to “steal” money from users.
Over-excited online social network users who reveal personal information and accept “friendship” requests from complete strangers have made the site an increasingly popular target for cybercriminals.
Many users, especially beginners, experience culture shock when they suddenly become “popular” and receive many friendship requests, said criminologist and Malaysian Association of Certified Fraud Examiners president Datuk Akhbar Satar.
“They feel encouraged to reveal more information about themselves without realising the damage it could cause,” he said, adding that many users even posted sexy or nude pictures of themselves on the website and ended up being blackmailed by complete strangers.
Akhbar said the practice of posting personal details such as birth dates, addresses and telephone numbers on the website had proven to be the source of a lucrative business for identity fraudsters.
“The crime triangle comprises elements of desire, target and opportunity. Once there is a desire to commit the crime, the criminal identifies the target and opportunity. This is where Facebook comes in,” he said.
According to Socialbakers.com, a website dedicated to global Facebook statistics, there are currently 9,874,860 Facebook users in Malaysia alone, which is 37.75% of the entire population.
Youths between the ages of 18 and 25 formed the majority of Malaysian users – 38% – while the youngest group, aged between 13 and 15, makes up 7% of users.
The gender ratio of Malaysians on Facebook is almost equal – with 53% of them being female.
Hackers operating on social networks can easily create fake profiles and send friendship requests to unsuspecting users within their target groups.
Many users have become victims of identity frauds, harassment, blackmail and have lost money through various scams operated via the website.
There have also been reports of gangs and drug syndicates in Malaysia recruiting members through Facebook and other social networks.
The criminals’ job is made easier as the name and profile picture of the user is visible to all via the websites’ default privacy settings.
“Unlike crimes committed in the physical world, cyber crimes require little or no investment,” said Akhbar, adding that such crimes were also difficult to detect.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Businesswoman in Ponzi scheme gets 120 years in jail, RM5mil fine
Published: Monday January 10, 2011 MYT 6:41:00 PM
Updated: Monday January 10, 2011 MYT 6:55:26 PM
Businesswoman in Ponzi scheme gets 120 years in jail, RM5mil fine
By M. MAGESWARI
KUALA LUMPUR: A businesswoman was sentenced to a total of 120 years in jail and fined RM5mil for swindling 4,000 people in an illegal investment scheme.
Raja Noor Asma Raja Harun, 49, pleaded guilty Monday to offences related to the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Securities Commission, after 18 witnesses testified from Aug 5 last year.
She was alleged to have fleeced 4,000 investors and earned herself millions during the year she was running her wealth management business, without having either a fund manager's licence or a futures broker's licence.
Raja Noor Asma had pleaded guilty to receiving, using or having in possession of illegal proceeds obtained through a Ponzi scheme at various banks between 2007 and 2008.
(A Ponzi scheme is said to be a swindle in which quick returns on an initial investment, mostly with money from new investors, lures the victim into bigger risks.)
A Sessions Court here sentenced her to a total of 100 years in prison – two years' imprisonment for each of 50 counts of money laundering – under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
She will, however, serve only two years after judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah ordered her jail terms to run concurrently.
Raja Noor Asma, a director of FX Capital Consultant (M) Sdn Bhd and FX Consultant, was also fined RM5mil and jailed a total of 20 years for various charges related to the Securities Commission.
She will, however, serve just five years for these offences, as Komathy also ordered the sentences related to the commission to run concurrently.
In all Raja Noor Asma will spend seven years in prison for her offences, committed from 2007 to 2008.
"Deterrence and denunciation are the two primary considerations taken into account in crafting an appropriate sentence in this case.
"The offences committed by the accused are serious and public confidence in the court would be corroded if offenders who deceive the public are given lenient sentence," said Komathy.
Raja Noor Asma admitted to committing the offences at the company's premises in Rawang between February 2007 and May 2008.
The court has set April 1 to hear claims by investors over their investments in the scheme in an attempt to recover their money.
Updated: Monday January 10, 2011 MYT 6:55:26 PM
Businesswoman in Ponzi scheme gets 120 years in jail, RM5mil fine
By M. MAGESWARI
KUALA LUMPUR: A businesswoman was sentenced to a total of 120 years in jail and fined RM5mil for swindling 4,000 people in an illegal investment scheme.
Raja Noor Asma Raja Harun, 49, pleaded guilty Monday to offences related to the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Securities Commission, after 18 witnesses testified from Aug 5 last year.
She was alleged to have fleeced 4,000 investors and earned herself millions during the year she was running her wealth management business, without having either a fund manager's licence or a futures broker's licence.
Raja Noor Asma had pleaded guilty to receiving, using or having in possession of illegal proceeds obtained through a Ponzi scheme at various banks between 2007 and 2008.
(A Ponzi scheme is said to be a swindle in which quick returns on an initial investment, mostly with money from new investors, lures the victim into bigger risks.)
A Sessions Court here sentenced her to a total of 100 years in prison – two years' imprisonment for each of 50 counts of money laundering – under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
She will, however, serve only two years after judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah ordered her jail terms to run concurrently.
Raja Noor Asma, a director of FX Capital Consultant (M) Sdn Bhd and FX Consultant, was also fined RM5mil and jailed a total of 20 years for various charges related to the Securities Commission.
She will, however, serve just five years for these offences, as Komathy also ordered the sentences related to the commission to run concurrently.
In all Raja Noor Asma will spend seven years in prison for her offences, committed from 2007 to 2008.
"Deterrence and denunciation are the two primary considerations taken into account in crafting an appropriate sentence in this case.
"The offences committed by the accused are serious and public confidence in the court would be corroded if offenders who deceive the public are given lenient sentence," said Komathy.
Raja Noor Asma admitted to committing the offences at the company's premises in Rawang between February 2007 and May 2008.
The court has set April 1 to hear claims by investors over their investments in the scheme in an attempt to recover their money.
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