Fraud Archives - The Silicon Underground

Can you download RAM?

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 12 May 2020 11:00:47 +0000

A software developer asked me about a website called Download More RAM. I don’t think he heard my other coworkers snicker. He asked if it was a security issue, while missing the even more important question: Can you download RAM?

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What happened to Tyco RC and trains?

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 07 Sep 2017 11:00:28 +0000

Tyco is a name I certainly remember from my childhood. While I never had either of them, many people my age had Tyco slot cars and/or a Tyco train set growing up. If you’re wondering what happened to Tyco, or

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A scammer called me a fraud

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 11:00:01 +0000

Someone I know got a tech support scam popup that said their computer was being hacked. I said to bring the computer over. I wanted to see it. I found the malicious site in the browser history–I’ll tell you how

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Microsoft Security Essentials alerts – don’t call “Microsoft”

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 16 May 2016 11:00:13 +0000

Last Tuesday night my oldest son came into the room and told me he thought one of our computers was being hacked. So I kicked into incident response mode and walked into the other room to be greeted with a computer

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How to disarm a scammer

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 11:00:29 +0000

Buried unfortunately deep in August’s Social Engineer podcast was some outstanding advice from British TV star R. Paul Wilson, who turned scamming into prime-time BBC TV for several seasons. Wilson, who literally has sold someone a bridge that he of course didn’t

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How to make it harder for a scammer to file your taxes for you

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 11:00:28 +0000

Tax fraud is one of big payoffs from data breaches. But there’s a simple thing you can do to make it harder for a scammer to file your taxes if your employer or health insurance provider gets breached and your social security

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FTDI needs to be charged under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 11:00:58 +0000

FTDI is a company that makes computer chips for USB peripherals. Their chips are frequently cloned, which is an issue they have a right to deal with. But they have to be careful. Breaking suspected cloned chips that consumers bought

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And… Home Depot confirms it’s been breached

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 11:00:11 +0000

In news that will surprise no one, Home Depot confirmed it’s had credit card data stolen. I also learned that in an effort to defeat my usual security measures, people increasingly will buy cards local to them, so they can

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Some tips for trolling fake technical support calls

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 00:54:49 +0000

I did a little more digging after getting yet another fake technical support phone call last week, and I’ve done some thinking on my own. If you want to troll these criminals when they call you, here are some ideas.

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Mr. Genius Man from “Windows Technical Support” gets nasty

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 11:00:03 +0000

I got another “Windows Technical Support” call on Friday evening. My caller ID said Minneapolis, and since I have coworkers in Minneapolis, I answered. But the guy on the other end was a long way from Minneapolis and probably doesn’t

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