FYI. Without cloning, robbing, apparatuses, cameras, tapes, etc. Only taking advantage of the naivety of the client.

Swindles by " Phishing" reach the 500 million dollars in the USA (30/09/2004 11:01):

The American users of Internet have lost 500 million dollars as a result of the on line modality of fraud well-known as "phishing".

SANTIAGO: According to investigation carried out by Ponemon Institute, based on interviews to 1,335 Internet users, the casualties inflicted by " phishing" are increasing.

"Phishing" , also known as " carding" or " brand spoofing" consists on the fact that swindlers distribute electronic mails with design and formats similar to those used by banking organizations. In the messages the bank clients (or services like eBay, PayPal or similar) are urgently asked to visit a page in Internet, which link is enclosed, with the objective of verifying his personal data and account information.

The interviews stated that 70% of the participants had visited false sites developed by the swindlers. 15% of the interviewed people said to have given personal information, as well as data from their credit cards, in the sites at issue.

More than 2% of the consulted ones said to have suffered economic losses as a result of " phishing" , writes in the issue The Register. In this context, Ponemon Institute published a guide (in English language) developed by Next Generation Security Software, in which detailed information is given on the technical outposts of "phishing" used at this moment by the swindlers. The complete report can be downloaded from the Web site of the company.