Scammers Hackers and Social
Media
"Investigator
Martinez. You have been called on the witness stand as the head of a team
investigating cases of cyber scams. Please, can you tell to the court anything
pertinent with regards to the case of Ms. Ann Santos?"
"The
case involving Ms. Santos is still under investigation, Your Honor. It is for
this reason, why I am not at liberty to give more than what is already exposed
by the media. As it is known, Ms Santos and a syndicate, posing as Sgt Brown,
met online, about 4 four months ago, in a social media site. They have corresponded
with each other, purely, through e-mail. This is how they operate in order to
get more information from their prospective victims once the full trust is
obtained."
Ann bowed her head, remembering how her friends
convinced her to join that site. John added her as friend, and then, insisted
they communicate through their e-mails. John avidly courted her, and was so
eager to win her heart. His e-mails were so loving and eager. How should she
know they were all lies only?
"Investigator
Martinez. Are we implying that social media is purely a medium for hackers and
con artists?"
"Definitely
not, You Honor. Social media is an amazing way for faster, more convenient
method of communication between friends, families and business acquaintances.
It is a way of connecting strangers all over the world with same interests,
building lucrative networks, sharing new and helpful knowledges, global
awareness on wider range of human issues and activities. Depending on the kind
of site, social media is even creating emotional support system . Social media
is basically the most convenient and cheapest forum for human interactions.
Unfortunately, it can and has been used by unscrupulous personalities and
organizations. Such has been the case we have right now with Ms Ann
Santos."
Regret and guilt gripped Ann's heart. Many of the
friends she had on the site has warned her against trusting John too much. She
did not believe them, listening to John's lies about her friends being jealous,
controlling and manipulative. Ann even went as far as blocking off friends she
knew for years in her office. John has been able ostracize everyone that has
shown doubt and suspicion of their relationship.
"How
would a syndicate be able to operate in such large scale? Would it be not difficult
to correspond with so many unwary men and women at the same time?"
"Not at all! They have prewritten
messages, designed so the victims will reply in such way that their next
prepared mail would be usable. It would be supposedly to look like they're
sharing their life's secrets. Their last
messages would then be encouraging the victims to share more financial
information. This would go on until the last one asking help for certain
financial difficulty, so they can then be free to meet each other, and quite
often, the promise of getting married."
So that is why John's messages never answered any of my
questions about his prior messages. He probably has not even read any of my
replies, Ann thought dejectedly. I feel so stupid!
"Investigator.
If what you say is true, how can such syndicate come into a social site without
being detected? They would need a great manpower to monitor such kind of page.
And would not the victims be interacting with each other as members of a group
page? Surely, one of them may easily slip a thing about his or her relationship
with any of the other member."
"Let
me elaborate, Your Honor. This kind of syndicate need not create a site page or
group to recruit their victims. They can easily join any site, page, or just
browse randomly. They will then create a bogus profile with pictures taken from
other sites, invite few members to be in their friends list, along with their
other cloned profiles."
Investigator
Martinez shifted on the witness chair. "They do not need a big manpower.
One person can have 5 or more 'clients' in one profile. They will then be
notified of every message and post they receive. That is why e-mail
correspondence is convenient for them, since that way, they can control the
frequency of the communication. This will also make the victims feel desperate
enough to help in any 'financial needs' sending money and unwittingly
information of their banking and credit status which will then be easily hacked
online by the syndicate for any purpose the information gathered may be of use
for them."
Ann
thought of the excuses John had told her about why he cannot reply soon. Being
in the dangerous war zone, attacked by the guerilla enemy, and secret missions
assigned to him by his superiors. She was so scared and worried that something
bad may happen to John. Every night she
prayed hard and long for his safety. Then, came to a decision that she will do
everything she can to save and get John out of that hell he was drafted
into. Ann remembered how she sent money
to John through her bank credit account for the payment of his pass in the Army
so they can meet abroad and get married. She will get pregnant soon and that
would release John from his draft. That
was when John stopped corresponding and all this trouble begun.
"Also,
Your Honor, this Sgt. John Brown need not even to be human. He can easily be a computer-programmed
identity, with an IP address that bounces in different sites all over the
world. This and the other modern technology firewall system is what make our
team's investigating efforts difficult."
Everyone
inside the courtroom turned to look at the woman sitting besides the defense
lawyer's vacant chair, as she screamed and cried hysterically.
LILIAN DIPASUPIL KUNIMASSA
0 Comments
