Internet criminals target families

Internet criminals target families

FAMILIES risk being fleeced by cyber criminals as parents use online banking facilities on the same home computers that their children use to chat with their school friends.

Internet fraudsters are using “social engineering” - teens are tricked into opening emails or links containing viruses that can then track key strokes – including account log-in details, federal police said yesterday.

The social engineering scam begins with amalgamation of information children reveal on social networking sites.

Broadband bandits “spear phish’” – conning kids into believing they are a friend via a personalised message.

If the child responds, the criminals install malicious software, or “malware”, which contains the key-logger.

“MySpace, Facebook … there are hundreds of these sites (on which young) people are posting a lot of personal information without taking the relevant precautions,” AFP national co-ordinator of high-tech crime operations Peter Sykora said.

“What the cyber criminal will do – and this is a perfect example of social engineering – is they will look at those sites and they will aggregate that data to form a very good picture to spear phish with emails.

“The internet is a great way for kids to communicate.

“But parents (should) lockdown their communication so that they invite only the people that they know in there.

“They shouldn’t have large amounts of personal information on there – dates of birth, your address. It compromises the whole family unit.

“This is an education process not only for the adults, but the children.”

Mr Sykora said while 60 to 70 per cent of cyber fraud attacks came from Eastern Europe and former Soviet bloc countries, the growing threat was from Africa – up from 5 per cent two years ago to 20 per cent now.

A 2007 survey by Unisys found Australians were more concerned about the misuse of personal information and credit card theft than national security.