Internet Fraud

Rick Devan Hendrix and Sarah Candace Deswert-Hendrix (pictured) are wanted in connection with an alleged Internet fraud scheme. The two fugitives face mail and wire fraud charges for allegedly taking pictures of items in stores, posting the items for sale on an Internet auction site, and collecting money from bidders. Victims in Oregon, Washington, and California suffered more than $300,000 in losses. 

Cyber criminals have found yet another way to steal people’s hard-earned money: a phishing scheme involving spam e-mails—purportedly from the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA), the Federal Reserve Bank, or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)—that can infect recipients’ computers with malware and allow access to their bank accounts. 

Next month, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization that oversees Internet domain names, is going to be dramatically expanding the domain name system. That worries the FTC. 

We admit to shopping a bit too much online. But, really, it’s so easy (except for the having-to-try-on-the-pants thing to make sure we have the right size). You know what we mean, if you’re an online shopper, too. But if you are, and if you’re wondering why some of the stuff you’ve bought has not yet arrived, we may have some bad news for you. 

Last year, federal authorities seized 82 Web sites on “Cyber Monday” as part of its Operation In Our Sites program, a law enforcement effort targeting counterfeit and piracy on the Internet; today, on Cyber Monday 2011, the government seized 150 domain names as part of the operation. 

Internet advertising is a multi-billion-dollar industry in which website owners sell advertising space on their sites. Because of the vast number of website operators and advertisers on the Internet, advertisers often rely on third party “ad brokers” to contract with and deliver their advertisements to publishers.

On the day the FTC issued a new publication, “Cookies: Leaving a Trail on the Web,” that explains how cookies are used to connect a person’s online activities over time, and how computer users can control information about their browsing, the FTC has taken action against online advertiser ScanScout.

Some retailers hire marketing research companies to evaluate the quality of service in their stores. These research companies, in turn, use mystery shoppers to make a particular purchase in a store or restaurant and then report on the experience. This can be effective in improving services. 

News that the Obama administration contemplated a “cyberwar” on Libya is yet another example of the reliance that we – individuals, countries, and corporations – all have on technology. Everyone knows that.

Two Missouri men and their company will have to forfeit more than $400,000 in cash and property for their role in a nationwide e-mail spamming scheme that victimized more than 2,000 colleges and universities, including the University of Missouri.