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February 27, 2006
Cyberthieves get smarter
The New York Times reports online identity thieves have increasingly sophisticated tools at their disposal. Rather than simply "phishing" for personal information and passwords by tricking Internet users into entering this data on phony Web sites, criminals now use monitoring programs that record keystrokes. Once installed, these programs often wait until users visit banking or credit cards sites before recording data.
"This type of software is a much more efficient way to get what they're after," says David Thomas, chief of the computer intrusion division at the FBI.
The Times also published a sidebar with advice on how to avoid inadvertently installing this kind of software. The best advice: use (and keep up to date) antivirus and antispyware programs.
Posted by Jessica Bernstein-Wax at February 27, 2006 10:48 PM
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