Fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir is remanded on bail at the Old Bailey at his first court appearance on fraud and theft charges.

New subscribers are asked for identification and existing subscribers are being encouraged to register their IDs with their numbers in what the Chinese government calls a crackdown on spam and fraud.

The US financial regulator decides to drop possible fraud charges against rating agency Moody's over a computer glitch.

And starts buy-back scheme HP is paying $55m to end an investigation into government procurement which suggested the ink giant was paying kickbacks to its channel partners in order to get government contracts.…

Computer giant Hewlett-Packard has agreed to pay $55m to settle claims that it paid kickbacks to win US government business.

esocid writes "An Albemarle County Circuit Court judge has set aside a subpoena issued by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to the University of Virginia seeking documents related to the work of climate scientist and former university professor Michael Mann. Judge Paul M. Peatross Jr. ruled that Cuccinelli can investigate whether fraud has occurred in university grants, as the attorney general had contended, but ruled that Cuccinelli's subpoena failed to state a 'reason to believe' that Mann had committed fraud. He also set aside the subpoena without prejudice, meaning Cuccinelli can rewrite it to better explain why he wants to investigate, but seemed skeptical about the underlying claim of fraud. The ruling is a major blow for Cuccinelli, a global warming skeptic who had maintained he was investigating whether Mann committed fraud in seeking government money for research that showed the earth has experienced a rapid, recent warming. Mann, now at Penn State University, worked at U-Va. until 2005. 'The Court has read with care those pages and understands the controversy regarding Dr. Mann's work on the issue of global warming. However, it is not clear what he did was misleading, false or fraudulent in obtaining funds from the Commonwealth of Virginia,' Peatross wrote. The ruling also limited Cuccinelli to asking about only one of the five grants issued, which was the only one using state funds." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Olomouc - The High Court in Olomouc today lowered fugitive businessman Radovan Krejcir´s sentence for a fraud with shares from 6.5 to six years in prison.

The Home Office unveils the design of the new UK passport which has enhanced security features to tackle identity theft and fraud.

Back when I was a kid, I kept my most valuable possessions, my baseball and basketball card collection, in a shoe box. Apparently, so too did former Apple employee Paul Devine. Devine is accused of wire fraud and conspiracy on the basis that he collected more than $2.5 million in kickbacks from Apple's suppliers. And during their investigation, officials found $125,000 stored away in shoe boxes at his home, as well as more than $20,000 worth of foreign currency. Prosecutors also allege that Devine may have other sources of cash. In Devine's position as a global supply manager at Apple, it's alleged that he was privy to information such as projected sales of Apple products, the cost to manufacture an Apple product, and the prices of bids from competing suppliers. Prosecutors allege that he leveraged this knowledge by providing it to those in the supply chain in return for kickbacks. The allegations against Devine are noteworthy, given Apple's penchant for secrecy. For instance, according to reports, Apple employees must test unreleased products in secret rooms under covered workstations, and are not allowed to follow other employees too closely. [via Macworld]TUAWFormer Apple manager accused of hiding $125k in shoeboxes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The former chief minister of the north-east Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh is arrested on corruption charges.

The BBC reports that a web scam is affecting a number of iTunes accounts that are linked to PayPal. Amounts ranging up to $4,700 were reported on Twitter and through Techcrunch as being stolen. All signs point to users falling for an online scam known as phishing. People will get e-mails that look similar to those from official sources urging them to change their user name and password for security reasons. They'll be redirected to a fake website which collects the credentials. The perpetrators then use the information to engage in further scams, such as the royalty scam we reported on earlier today. MobileMe was a target for phishing in the past. There are also new ways of ferreting this information being developed, such as tabnabbing that could even fool those who are familiar with these sorts of scams. One of the best defenses against phishers on a Mac is to invest in 1Password. If you click on a fraud e-mail and it tries to get you to change a password, it's going to detect the phishing site and steer you away. Otherwise, use common sense. Neither Apple, PayPal or any legitimate company will send you an e-mail asking for personal account information. If you get an e-mail asking for your full name, Social Security Number, credit and/or debit card numbers, passwords, etc., it is always fraud. Likewise, never click on an e-mail link to access your account. Go directly to the web site itself. If you have a parent or child that is not web-savvy, double check to make sure

A recent series of fraudulent iTunes downloads, tied to PayPal accounts, is not based on any new exploit, sources claim. Described as "close to Apple," the sources suggest that iTunes has not been compromised and that Apple isn't aware of any sudden jump in fraud. In reality, people are probably falling prey to variants of bot and phishing attacks that have been around for years, All Thing Digital writes.... Apple - PayPal - Phishing - iTunes - Fraud

I guess with all of the money flowing around iTunes, sooner or later someone would have to try to steal some of it. Twelve people have been charged in the UK with basically laundering money through iTunes -- they were allegedly uploading their own tracks onto the music sales service, then buying those same tracks with stolen credit card numbers. The fraudsters nabbed over $300,000 worth of royalties in just a four month period between September 2008 and January 2009. The Register doesn't note how the 12 (who come from a surprising number of various jobs and backgrounds) came up with this idea, or how they got caught, although there was an investigation underway by the FBI. iTunes wasn't the only service defrauded -- Amazon was reportedly used for some of the transactions as well. The suspects are scheduled to appear on bail next month, and I'm sure both Apple and Amazon have taken steps to make sure this doesn't happen again. Even so, out of all of the millions if not billions of dollars running through iTunes, if this $300,000 is all of the theft they need to worry about, Apple's doing pretty well anyway. [via MDN]TUAW12 people charged in iTunes royalty fraud originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Despite reports, iTunes hasn't been compromised and the company isn't aware of any sudden increase in fraudulent transactions, sources tell All Things Digital.

Back in court next month The Metropolitan Police's eCrime unit has charged 12 people with fraud and money laundering offences connected to iTunes.…

Společnost RSA, bezpečnostní divize společnosti EMC, oznámila, že pomáhá České spořitelně posílit bezpečnostní prvky boje proti kyberkriminalitě. Banka spustila od 1. srpna 2010 ve spolupráci se společností RSA Security nový bezpečnostní systém RSA Fraud Action Antiphishing & Antitrojan a rozšířila tak síť bezpečnostních opatření. Jejich cílem je zvýšit ochranu uživatelů internetového bankovnictví České spořitelny před útoky hackerů. Systém rozšiřuje bezpečnostní opatření o monitorování nebe

An Indian court has granted bail to the chairman of fraud-hit Satyam Computers, Ramalinga Raju.

A court in Australia says a Muslim woman must remove her full veil while giving evidence in a fraud case.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. regulators said on Wednesday they charged New Jersey with securities fraud for not disclosing to municipal bond investors that it was underfunding its pensions.

£1.3m worth of SIM skulduggery Eight men and one woman were arrested during dawn raids this morning at addresses across the UK connected to an alleged million-pound phone fraud.…Free On-Demand Webcast - Virtualizing the Hard Stuff

KABUL (Reuters) - More than 900 polling centers for Afghanistan's parliamentary elections next month will not open because of security fears, an official said on Wednesday, adding to concerns after a fraud-marred presidential vote last year.

Just over a quarter of Dell's shareholders want company founder Michael Dell out from chairman of the board, an SEC filing late Tuesday revealed. About 25.1 percent of investors refused to vote for Dell's return to the board of directors at last week's annual shareholders' meeting. The lack of confidence was a reflection of protests by the respective unions of the AFL-CIO and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees over the company's refusal to fire Dell after settling an SEC suit alleging fraud.... Michael Dell - AFL-CIO - Board of directors - American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees - Shareholder

Suppliers cough to consultancy fees Paul Shim Devine, a 37-year old Apple manager, has pleaded not guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy charges related to accusations that he took a series of bribes from suppliers to help them win work from the computer and phone maker.…

Monday, August 16, 2010 A global supply manager for Apple Inc. was arrested Friday in California and indicted for wire fraud and money laundering, after accepting over US$1 million in kickbacks. The manager, 37-year-old Paul Shin Devine, used a system of international bank accounts and a front organization in order to receive the payments, reported the San Jose Mercury News. Andrew Ang, of Singapore, was also named in the indictment. Ang is accused of receiving confidential data, as well as accepting a portion of the kickbacks paid to Devine. More...

pickens writes "A midlevel Apple manager was arrested Friday and accused of accepting more than $1 million in kickbacks from half a dozen Asian suppliers of iPhone and iPod accessories in a federal indictment unsealed and a separate civil suit. Paul Shin Devine, a global supply manager, and Andrew Ang, of Singapore, were named in a 23-count federal grand jury indictment for wire fraud, money laundering and kickbacks. 'Apple is committed to the highest ethical standards in the way we do business,' Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said in a statement. 'We have zero tolerance for dishonest behavior inside or outside the company.' The alleged scheme used an elaborate chain of US and foreign bank accounts and one front company to receive payments, the indictment said, and code words like 'sample' were used to refer to the payments so that Apple co-workers wouldn't become suspicious." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Saturday, August 14, 2010 Former US Representative Dan Rostenkowski died of lung cancer Wednesday at his vacation home in Genoa City, Wisconsin. Rostenkowski, whose political career ended in the early 1990s after he was convicted on fraud charges, was 82. Rostenkowski's death was confirmed by his spokesperson, Jim Jaffe, who said that the former congressman had been receiving treatment for lung cancer for a while. Rostenkowski had previously been treated for prostate cancer in the 1990s. More...

The US Marshals Service on Friday arrested Apple worldwide supply manager Paul Shin Devine for money laundering and wire fraud relating to leaking iPhone and iPod secrets. Officials accused Devine of taking over $1 million in illegal payments from iPhone and iPod accessory makers in return for internal data that helped them negotiate better terms with Apple. It's unclear what was transmitted from what the San Jose Mercury News had learned, but the companies were material suppliers from mainland China and Taiwan, South Korea and Devine's native Singapore.... Apple - iPhone - iPod - San Jose Mercury News - Wire fraud

The Mercury News is reporting that Sunnyvale, CA resident Paul Shin Devine, a 37-year-old Apple manager in global supply, has been arrested and charged with accepting kickbacks from Asian suppliers. In return, he provided confidential information that allowed these suppliers to negotiate more advantageous contracts with Apple. Devine, and his alleged co-conspirator Andrew Ang of Singapore, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on 23 counts including wire fraud, money laundering and other charges. Devine is being held by the US Marshals Service. Apple's statement on the matter comes from PR lead Steve Dowling: "Apple is committed to the highest ethical standards in the way we do business... We have zero tolerance for dishonest behavior inside or outside the company." Devine is alleged to have collected over $1 million in funds from various suppliers in China, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea during the scheme; the companies involved have not yet been named publicly. Devine opened bank accounts in several countries in his wife's name to disguise the bribes. [via Apple 2.0]TUAWApple manager held on kickback charges originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Faces fraud, illegal distribution charges A man in North West London has been accused of fraudulently filming Hollywood movies at a Vue cinema and then distributing the wares illegally.…Free On-Demand Webcast - Virtualizing the Hard Stuff

Look this gift horse in the mouth Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is warning people not to fall for unsolicited phone calls claiming to be offering tax rebates.…

Nearly 200 Japanese centenarians are missing, according to a national audit carried out amid growing fears of widespread welfare fraud.

Experian data trawl questioned The Information Commissioner has asked coalition ministers to explain their plans to use credit reference agencies to gather evidence of benefit fraud, citing privacy concerns.…

An anonymous reader writes "The SEC failed to catch Bernie Madoff largely because they are understaffed (a fact the SEC itself has admitted), under-funded, and simply lack the resources to adequately investigate his activities. Undoubtedly, there were other smaller incidents of fraud that have gone unpunished because of this deficiency. To solve this egregious issue, NERA Economic Consulting proposed crowdsourcing, the concept behind Wikipedia's existence. Proving financial fraud is essentially an exercise in finding numbers that do not match. Through crowdsourcing, regulators would make financial data publicly available to the masses, who would do the 'grunt work' of sifting through them to find discrepancies. But would it work?" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Browser hijack scam runs through rogue traffic broker Cybercrooks use of botnets to make money by sending spam or launching denial of service attacks has become a well-understood business model.…

Officials schedule Guinea's presidential run-off for 19 September, after repeated delays while fraud allegations were investigated.

A Zambian court sentences former Defence Minister George Mpombo to 60 days in prison for issuing a cheque that bounced.

Candid camera outs opportunistic hacker A corrupt laptop repair engineer has gone to jail for nine months after he was convicted of hacking into the laptop of one of his customers.…

Late in 2008, the most sophisticated and well-coordinated international e-crime yet pulled off netted $9 million for its perpetrators. We discussed the RBS WorldPay heist when news about it emerged, and the indictments some months later. Now one of the accused ringleaders has been extradited from Estonia to face charges in the US. "...in the span of 12 hours around Nov. 8 [2008], the group hit 2,100 ATM terminals in 280 cities spanning the world, from the United States to Russia to Italy to Japan. ... Despite the technical and international challenges of the case, US investigators believe they were able to trace the scheme back to its origin. On Friday they brought one of the accused ringleaders from Estonia to Atlanta to face arraignment on several fraud charges — a rare appearance in US courts for an accused international hacker. Sergei Tsurikov, 26, of Tallinn, Estonia, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment to conspiracy to commit computer fraud, computer fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. ... The increasing scope of foreign attacks comes as college students around the world are focusing heavily on technology degrees only to emerge into a difficult job market with low pay, officials said." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Late in 2008, the most sophisticated and well-coordinated international e-crime yet pulled off netted $9 million for its perpetrators. We discussed the RBS WorldPlay heist when news about it emerged, and the indictments some months later. Now one of the accused ringleaders has been extradited from Estonia to face charges in the US. "...in the span of 12 hours around Nov. 8 [2008], the group hit 2,100 ATM terminals in 280 cities spanning the world, from the United States to Russia to Italy to Japan. ... Despite the technical and international challenges of the case, US investigators believe they were able to trace the scheme back to its origin. On Friday they brought one of the accused ringleaders from Estonia to Atlanta to face arraignment on several fraud charges — a rare appearance in US courts for an accused international hacker. Sergei Tsurikov, 26, of Tallinn, Estonia, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment to conspiracy to commit computer fraud, computer fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. ... The increasing scope of foreign attacks comes as college students around the world are focusing heavily on technology degrees only to emerge into a difficult job market with low pay, officials said." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Prague - The Justice Ministry today sent off a request for Switzerland to extradite Tomas Pitr, a businessman convicted of fraud by Czech courts, to the Czech Republic, the ministry writes on its website.

The ORB is a place where New Zealanders can report online crime such as spam, fraud, privacy breaches and child exploitation. Reports can be anonymous.

Check-ins may be the new currency of mobile local search, but sites like Foursquare will need tools ...

An anonymous reader writes "A large Zeus version 2 botnet is being used to conduct financial fraud in the UK and is operated from Eastern Europe. The botnet appears to be controlling more than 100,000 infected computers. The criminals have been harvesting all manner of potentially lucrative and revenue-producing credentials — including online account IDs plus login information to banks, credit and debit card numbers, account types plus balances, bank statements, browser cookies, client side certificates, login information for email accounts and social networks, and even FTP passwords." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader writes "A large Zeus version 2 botnet is being used to conduct financial fraud in the UK and is operated from Eastern Europe. The botnet appears to be controlling more than 100,000 infected computers. The criminals have been harvesting all manner of potentially lucrative and revenue-producing credentials — including online account IDs plus login information to banks, credit and debit card numbers, account types plus balances, bank statements, browser cookies, client side certificates, login information for email accounts and social networks and even FTP passwords." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader writes "A large Zeus version 2 botnet is being used to conduct financial fraud in the UK and is operated from Eastern Europe. The botnet appears to be controlling more than 100,000 infected computers. The criminals have been harvesting all manner of potentially lucrative and revenue-producing credentials — including online account IDs plus login information to banks, credit and debit card numbers, account types plus balances, bank statements, browser cookies, client side certificates, login information for email accounts and social networks, and even FTP passwords." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader writes "A large Zeus version 2 botnet is being used to conduct financial fraud in the UK and is operated from Eastern Europe. The botnet appears to be controlling more than 100,000 infected computers. The criminals have been harvesting all manner of potentially lucrative and revenue-producing credentials — including online account IDs plus login information to banks, credit and debit card numbers, account types plus balances, bank statements, browser cookies, client side certificates, login information for email accounts and social networks and even FTP passwords." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump and the promoters of his Trump SoHo hotel-condominium were sued by buyers who accused them of fraudulently touting out-sized sales figures to encourage them to buy units and inflate the project's financial health.