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Click Goes Your Identity as Thieves Perfect Online Scam |
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Contributed by Other Writer
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Tuesday, 02 December 2008 |
The Age
By Julian Bajkowski
If media and gambling billionaire James Packer invites you to connect with his group of cohorts on popular professional networking website LinkedIn, these a strong chance he just wants your online contact book. And it’s not really him that’s asking.
That’s what happened to more than 150 professionals and senior executives this month after Mr Packer’s identity was hijacked and used to dupe them into exposing their links to online social networks – and the personal information that goes with them.
The chief executive of executive search firm Alt-U and former Australian Computer Society president, Edward Mandla, declined his invitation to join the bogus Packer network, but said whoever has set up the page was set to reap a goldmine of commercially sensitive information. “You see the list of an organization or a bid team,” Mr Mandla said. “You can then start stealing their staff.”
If media and gambling billionaire James Packer invites you to connect
with his group of cohorts on popular professional networking website
LinkedIn, these a strong chance he just wants your online contact book.
And it’s not really him that’s asking.
That’s what happened to more than 150 professionals and senior
executives this month after Mr Packer’s identity was hijacked and used
to dupe them into exposing their links to online social networks – and
the personal information that goes with them.
The chief executive of executive search firm Alt-U and former
Australian Computer Society president, Edward Mandla, declined his
invitation to join the bogus Packer network, but said whoever has set
up the page was set to reap a goldmine of commercially sensitive
information. “You see the list of an organization or a bid team,” Mr
Mandla said. “You can then start stealing their staff.”
It is a phenomenon that has computer and corporate security experts worried that identity thieves have now moved on from targeting mass-market website like MySpace and Facebook to a more discerning and high-powered clientele.
LinkedIn profiles typically contain a treasure trove of detail about its members’ professional loves including present and past employers and job titles, fields of expertise, memberships of professional associations and other interest – a key differentiator from more relaxed online communities like MySpace and Facebook.
When Mr Packer’s unauthorized LinkedIn profile first appeared. It amassed more than 130 new professional connections in just 24 hours.
Featuring a real photo of Mr Packer smiling and dressed in a black dinner jacket and bow tie, the bogus LinkedIn profile describes him as “Executive Chairman [sic] of Publishing and Broadcasting Limited interested in expanding international gaming businesses”.
But if the real-life James Packer is renowned for intensely guarding his private dealings with friends and associates, his digital doppelganger is a powerhouse of public activity and has no hesitation about parading his fast-growing network of contacts.
First published in The Age, 2 December 2008, article by Julian Bajkowski |
