Online Scams targeting the Army's 3rd ID
Sunday, August 15, 2010, 08:05 AM - News Stories
Savannah Morning News has the story how scammers are using technology to prey on deployed troops and their loved ones. In this case, it’s the 3rd ID falling victim.
The story starts off with a scam uncovered by Ginger Cucolo, whose husband Maj. Gen. Tony Cucolo was deployed when they were “skyping”. Funnily enough, she was tipped off that the person she was skyping, wasn’t her husband after the imposter ended all their sentences in “Love”.
Which, let’s be honest, is far more interesting than your run-of-the-mill online military scam story.
That didn't sound like her Tony.
"It was when Tony first deployed," said Ginger Cucolo, wife of Maj. Gen. Tony Cucolo, the 3rd Infantry Division's commanding general. "We were Skyping, but the visual still wasn't on so it was basically like texting back and fourth. After the third day of the visual not working, I realized either something is wrong, or you're not my husband."
The Army's CID based in northern Virginia is seeing hundreds of cases of fake online accounts that try tricking people into thinking they’re someone they’re not – and if they’re successful in their attempts, they’re able to get money
"In the past six to eight months, I've seen hundreds of cases, from majors and lower-level officers, to mid-level ranks and everything in between," said Christopher Grey, spokesman for the Army's Criminal Investigation Division based in northern Virginia. "It happens, quite frankly, from Australia to Ireland."
You can read the entire story here.
NOTE: Click on the link above and read the rest of this story and you will see that there are bloodsucking leeches out there who play upon the emotions of the innocent & naïve. This is a crime just as disgraceful and outrageous as the phony wannabees who dishonor the uniform for personal gain and profit.
Just so you know - there is NO "Sean Linnane" Facebook page, MySpace, or any other social network. Sean Linnane is a pseudonym, of course, and I only appear here on Blog STORMBRINGER, Theo's LAST OF THE FEW, David Frum's FrumForum and occasionally I get picked up on BLACKFIVE. That's about it - those people know who I am and can vet anything I send their way.
If you see ANYTHING, ANYWHERE claiming to be me; rest assured it is not. I do not do the social networking thing - not even in my real name - it is absolutely counter to every principle of the security work I do in real life.
I AM presently active within the Twitter phenomenon, however. A recent development: I've received a couple of emails requesting link exchanges - in broken English - and then there's that person who comments in Chinese; I don't touch these things with a ten-foot barge pole.
Call me paranoid? Perhaps; a Truism of the security profession is to maintain a healthy level of fear - if you're not afraid, then you're doing something wrong and you're probably about to be hit.
SEAN LINNANE SENDS
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