Online criminals could feast in lean economy

Cyber criminals are looking to 'money mules' to launder funds from internet fraud

The struggling global economy could be a boon to cyber criminals, according to security firm McAfee.

Dave Marcus, head of communications and research for McAfee's Avert Labs, told vnunet.com that several fields of computer crime could see a bumper crop of potential victims in the coming year.

In particular, Marcus sees criminals being able to effectively leverage news developments for use in attacks, while the sagging job market could expand the pool of so-called 'money mules' in fraud operations.

Though it is not a new tactic, the use of news to drive malware downloads has been an increasingly common form of attack in recent months. As the economy continues to serve as the biggest news item, Marcus sees news-driven malware and phishing attacks worsening.

"Bank-related, automotive, anything that they can pull out of the news you are going to see in scams," said Marcus.

"People have to do a better job of realising that the news of today will be used in the scams of this evening."

Marcus also predicts a jump in the number of 'money mule' recruiting operations.

Criminals will often enlist the help of unknowing victims to receive funds from fraud payments in their personal accounts. The 'mule' then sends the criminal a wire payment or money order for the amount of the transaction, providing a laundered and untraceable payment for the criminal.

The tactic is especially dangerous because the mules are not always aware that their activities are illegal until they are arrested.

"With jobs tanking because of the economy people are looking toward the internet to help pay bills and we are going to see a rise in that," warned Marcus, who recommends that users be wary of job offers for such titles as 'internet transaction managers'.

"More than ever, people need to really start reading what they are looking at," he advised.

The involvement of citizens could become even more crucial in the coming months, as McAfee does not foresee a bounty of help dealing with online crime from governments primarily occupied by the economy and terrorist threats.

Even government agencies that are concerned with fighting cyber crime face problems with jurisdiction issues, said Marcus.

"Governments are bound to physical boundaries, the cops have to abide by borders and the cyber criminals do not," Marcus explained.

"We all need to do a better job of [addressing] those kinds of problems going forward."