Exposed: Call Center for Identity Theft Crimials

“…When security company Trusteer spotted an advertisement offering on-demand calls at $10 a pop for cybercriminals to obtain missing pieces of information needed to execute identity theft, readers wanted to know about it. Illegal call services are not new.  Their staff is trained to impersonate bank employees, computer technicians, travel agents, recruiters and other people to whom targeted individuals are likely to disclose information.

“…(in 2011) security companies reported cold-calling  campaigns throughout the U.K., Canada, U.S., Australia and other countries, in  which the callers impersonated computer technicians from ISPs (Internet service  providers) or Microsoft to trick people into installing malware on their  computers. Some of the schemes were tracked back to India, where because of low-cost labour,  these businesses are very profitable.

…Users should treat all unsolicited calls with caution,  regardless of what kind of information the person on the other end of the line  has about them, Klein advised. They should also confirm any suspicious requests  with the organization the caller is claiming to represent, but they should do  so by calling its publicly listed numbers, not those provided by the caller…”

FULL STORY: http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=64887