Open Source Intelligence 101

As the internet expands so do the online scams and how sophisticated they are becoming. What online scams all have in common is that they prey on your fear, greed, and ignorance – here are some of the most sophisticated online scams on the internet that everyone seems to fall for. Phishing – One of the most popular scams out there is email phishing. Victims of phishing scams will be tricked into giving out their passwords through legitimate emails and seemingly trustworthy businesses. According to a recent study, nearly 100 000 attempts of phishing are reported each month. Learn more about phishing scams here. The Nigerian Prince Scam – One of the oldest online scams in the books is the Nigerian prince scam. You’ll receive an email from a Nigerian prince or investor offering you a chance of financial gain, the catch is you need to pay a small portion upfront or give out your private banking information. Ticket Fraud – Victims of the ticket fraud scam will be...

Ethical hacking, sometimes known as white hat hacking is when a digital forensics expert or OSINT investigator attempts to penetrate a computer system, network or app on behalf of the owners – with their permission. Ethical hacking is usually done to find if there is any security vulnerabilities that a hacker or cybercriminal could use to exploit someone. The purpose of ethical hacking is to test the security of the systems involved and identify if there are any vulnerabilities in the system as well as the network or infrastructure. Investigators involved will often attempt to exploit the vulnerabilities themselves to see whether malicious activities are possible. Black hat hackers are the unethical counterpart of ethical hackers. Rather than take advantage, ethical hackers will use their skills to document if there are any weaknesses in the systems and give advice on how to fix them and then strengthen their overall security systems. Here are some ways ethical hackin...

Letting your guard down can lead to serious consequences, especially when it comes to fraud through your emails, SMS’s and even telephone calls. Phishing, smishing, and vishing are some of the many ways that criminals may try to defraud you… Here’s what you need to know about phishing, smishing, and vishing! Phishing: This is a scam that takes place through emails. A typical attack will occur when you receive an email that looks real, either appearing to be sent from your bank or other financial institution.  Most of the time the email will ask you to click on a link or update your private account information. Even though these emails may look legitimate, they are simply trying to scare you into clicking a link that will lead to a legitimate-looking website – but it isn’t! They will try and scare you into clicking links by saying, “your account has been blocked.” or “you need to install this new software to stay protected.” If you fall for this fake email, yo...

Facebook Marketplace is kind of like Craigslist, where it offers a place for people to search for goods to buy from people in their local community as well as sell items in their community.  All you have to do to use Facebook Marketplace is have a Facebook profile and selling something is as easy as taking a photo, setting the price, posting and then selling! Buying the items are just as easy! However, Marketplace comes with a range of annoying scams, including fake items, catfishing and even hacking. Because of the downside to Facebook Marketplace, you need to always be on the lookout for these common Facebook Marketplace scam scenarios… - Someone will be selling authentic items at a very low price, but it turns out they’ve sold you a counterfeit. - There are a range of dating scams (catfishing) that include someone using a fake photo to lure the desperate in. - A family members Facebook may be hacked and a user will receive a plea from them for money. - ...

In this day and age, it is so easy for criminals to use a digital device to carry out a traditional crime. A traditional crime such as blackmail which, back in the day, would usually be done using newspaper cuttings collaged together to create a ransom note is now being done in a completely different way using the power of digital devices as well as the internet. These days, it is so much easier for criminals to just use a computer to carry out a range of crimes such as, blackmail, identity theft, social media scams, ticket scams, dating bots, data theft and so much more. Some examples of other traditional crimes where a digital device can be used include instant messaging, which is often used to commit harassment. Criminals also continue to pose as your bank where they will SMS you and try to scam you into paying fake accounts, etc. Email is also used by cybercriminals on a regular basis to commit fraud by using phishing scams. It seems that the list is endless and ...

With everyone being on multiple social media networks these days, privacy is a very rare thing. Because of this, social media networks are an easy way for scammers and bots to potentially pose a threat to users! However, there are certain actions that YOU are doing that can make things so much worse! To keep yourself safe and secure, use your common sense and always be sure to never, ever post these 4 things on your Facebook network or any other social media account.  - Home address or work address This should be an obvious one, but “Checking in” or adding your location to an image or post can also give away where you are. So, be careful when you’re adding geotags on your  Instagram  posts, because some creep might be trying to find out where you live or work. - Certain photos of children You should always be extra, extra careful when it comes to posting photos of children on social media. Always steer clear of uploading compromising images, like ...

Imagine this common scenario, someone leaves a company after many years and starts working for a competitor business in the same business park. It is suspected that the employee may have taken private company info with them, such as client, supplier and pricing lists. No matter what company information it might be, when it is suspected that the employee may have stolen digital assets then it is vital that the company takes the right steps to ensure the evidence is protected and preserved, especially if it is needed in a possible civil litigation. For example, at our OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence) department we receive a call from a client stating that they suspect their former employee took important propriety information with them when they left. They still have the former employee’s computer in the office, here’s what we’ll do next… First, we’ll tell the client to immediately isolate the computer in question. If the computer is turned off, then it needs to be lef...