NTC to raise fines on spam text messages

By Darwin G. Amojelar, Manila Times

THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) plans to impose higher fines to eliminate spam text messages.

Spam messages are unsolicited and unwanted commercial and promotional advertisements and surveys.

Ruel V. Canobas, NTC chief, said from 2005 to 2007 the agency has received 256 and 823 written and phoned-in complaints, adding that 16 administrative cases had been filed.

The NTC chief said under existing laws, the regulator can only impose a maximum of P200 per day until the violation is corrected. “The fine is very low,” he said.

Last year, the regulator had penalized Globe Telecom Inc. and its content providers Information Gateway Inc. and Paysetter International Inc., as well as Smart Communications Inc. and Entrainment Gateway Group for violation of rules and regulations on spam, as provided for in Memorandum Circular 03-03-2005-A.

Under the circular, telecom companies and content providers with more than 50 violations shall be fined P200 for every violation and will suffer cancellation of their provisional authority or certificate of public convenience or registration.

Companies found with 20 to 50 violations shall be fined P200 for every violation, and their licenses and permits canceled.

Telcos with violations of 20 or less will pay P200 for every violation.

The rules also prohibit the broadcast of messages between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., except for paid subscription services.

The NTC also bars telcos from charging subscribers or recipients of broadcast or push messages

Russia becomes 'spam superpower'

Russia has become a "superpower" of spam e-mail, becoming the second most prolific country after the United States in producing junk emails, a computer security firm said Monday.

"The country has stormed into second place, accounting for 8.3 percent of the world's spam, or one in 12 junk mails seen in inboxes," according to security firm Sophos in its quarterly update on spam email.

Between October and December 2007, the United States remained the spam leader, accounting for 21 percent of these emails, which contained unsolicited marketing pitches and sometimes viruses or other malicious software.

But on a regional basis, Asia ranked first with 32 percent of all spam, followed by Europe at 27 percent, with North America in third place, accounting for 26.5 percent of junk email.

The "dirty dozen" spam-relaying countries were the United States, Russia, China (4.2 percent), Brazil (4.0 percent), South Korea (3.9 percent), Turkey (3.8 percent), Italy (3.5 percent), Poland (3.4 percent), Germany (3.2 percent), Spain (3.1 percent), Mexico (3.1 percent) and Britain (2.5 percent).

"Countries that continually remain among the top spam-relaying countries need to ensure that they are doing more to proper defend computer systems," said Mike Haro, senior security analyst at Sophos.

"If they continue to sit back as compromised computers spread malicious emails and malware, then hackers will continue to look at these systems as easy targets in their efforts to turn them into botnets," which can be controlled by hackers.

In one of the latest efforts to bypass spam filters, Sophos said cybercriminals sent out their messages with supposed music files from stars such as Elvis Presley, Fergie and Carrie Underwood attached to the messages.

The files actually contained a monotone voice encouraging people to buy shares in a little-known company.

"This spam campaign is a perfect example of how cybercriminals will change their approach and tactics in order to trick users into making bad choices," said Haro. Agence France-Presse

Criminal intent becoming more pervasive in web attacks

Criminal intent is clearly becoming the motivation behind most web attacks and malicious software caught by companies like Trend Micro, an expert said recently.

In an interview, David Perry, global director of education for Trend Micro Inc., said that in his 33 years of computer experience, he has seen more malicious attacks and software launched by people with "largely financial gain" in mind.

In the United States, he said that identity fraud has become a profitable business, as “phishing” or the act of stealing of sensitive information from users with the intent of selling or using it, has become a greater concern among security companies.

He said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has reported that about 15 million identities were stolen in the US alone.

The Trend Micro executive also noted that computers worldwide are also being hijacked using computer malware to generate so-called "click frauds." Click frauds are now used by fake affiliates to trick online advertising services of Google and Amazon to generate fraudulent traffic to certain websites.

Using hijacked computers, these fake affiliates are now able to generate fraudulent advertising revenue by driving more traffic or "clicks" to target websites, Perry said.

The executive said that click fraud is now a headache in the web advertising world.

"It is wreaking havoc to the rest of the Internet advertising world. Advertising clicks are generated by malware. It is now very common," he said.

He stressed that this is one way that malicious groups are now defrauding users and online services.

Citing a few more examples on how criminal intent is now pervasive in web attacks and phishing activates, Perry said that a Trojan program that intends to steal online account information can fetch anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 in the underground market. A credit card number with a personal identification number can sell for about $500. These figures, he added, were culled from "cybercrime forums."

TrendLabs has been reporting about 3,000 malware and 17,000 blocked web addresses a day, Perry said. He added that he has also seen more spam activities increasing in China.

"I'm seeing more activities in China. I've seen the 'make money spam' and the 'illicit software spam' and the 'promised of jobs.' There has also been a rise of phishing in China," he said.
By Erwin Oliva - INQUIRER.net

Nearly 95 percent of e-mail is junk--US Web security firm

Agence France-Presse
SAN FRANCISCO--Nearly 95 percent of the e-mail sent in 2007 has been "spam," junk advertising loathed by its recipients, according to a report released Wednesday by a US Web security firm.

The amount of junk e-mail has skyrocketed despite a 2004 US CAN-SPAM Act that placed restrictions on sending unwanted messages and sanctioned penalties for "spammers," according to California-based Barracuda Networks Inc.

Junk messages made up an estimated 70 percent of e-mail the year the act was passed, the Barracuda report indicates.

"The spam war is a continuous battle between spammers and security vendors," said Barracuda chief executive Dean Drako.

"Security vendors now require 24-by-7 defense operations to continuously monitor the Internet for new spam trends and distribute new defensive solutions immediately."

Barracuda said it based its findings on analysis of more than a billion e-mail messages received daily by its approximately 50,000 customers worldwide.

Spammers cunningly hide their identities by routing e-mails through other people's websites, blogs or computers, according to Barracuda

Nene: Stop cellphone gimmicks

By: Bernadette E. Tamayo - Journal
SENATE Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. wants to prohibit telecommunications companies from sending unsolicited materials like advertisements and contests to cellphone subscribers via text or short message service (SMS).

He filed Senate Bill 1138 regulating the sending of materials by network companies via text which are not solicited by the subscriber.

He pointed out that cellphone services, including text or SMS, are paid for by all subscribers. Unlike free services, therefore, there is no justification for such unsolicited materials.

“As competition among cellphone companies gets fierce, they have started to look into their existing customers as a renewable market through gimmicks, subscriptions and contests by increasing their availment of cellphone services,” Pimentel said.

He said telecom companies have resorted to these gimmicks as post-paid plans get more attractive and pre-paid cards get smaller in denomination with the market for cellular phones nearing saturation, especially in Metro Manila.

Under SBl 1138, network companies are prohibited from sending unsolicited materials such as advertisements, offerings, promotions, subscriptions and other notifications to their subscribers via text. The only exception is legitimate notifications of past due accounts.

Companies found to have violated this prohibition will be punished with a fine of P20,000 to P100,000 per violation.

Any director, officer or employee found to have authorized or otherwise permitted the prohibited act shall likewise be fined P1,000 for the first offense, P2,000 for the second offense and P3,000 for the third offense. For the fourth and subsequent offense, the violator shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment of not less than one month.

Pimentel echoed the common complaint of cellphone users that telecommunication network firms indiscriminately send unsolicited materials to subscribers, jacking up phone bills.

“More often than not, unknowing customers have been victimized by such offerings sent by cellphone companies via text or short message service, only to realize later that such contests and subscriptions have jacked up their monthly bills or consumed all of their pre-paid credit,” he said

Giant 'pump-and-dump' spam scam hits computers

Spammers have unleashed one of the biggest online stock manipulation campaigns in history in the last 24 hours, increasing global spam levels by 30 percent, a leading IT security company claimed Wednesday.

Experts at SophosLabs have detected about 500 million emails containing advice to invest in Prime Time Stores Inc. -- an obscure US-listed group -- in a record-breaking example of the "pump-and-dump" spamming technique.

"Pump-and-dump" is when spammers buy shares, orchestrate a spam campaign promoting the company, then wait for a share price to rise before selling their stock for a profit.

"This particular campaign was first detected 24 hours ago in Germany and has caused a 30-percent rise in spam worldwide compared to typical levels," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Britain-based Sophos.

"This is staggering. It's one of the biggest spam campaigns we've ever seen," he told AFP in a telephone interview.

The email cites a company press release announcing the opening of shops by Prime Time Stores in Puerto Rico and goes on to say: "Imagine if you had the chance to buy a Wal-Mart franchise in Mexico right when it first opened its doors there and all you needed was a small stake to get in."

It adds: "Hurry, we see this stock starting to make the turn NOW. Big watch in effect for August 8, 2007!".

Prime Time Stores, which is the exclusive licensee for 7-Eleven convenience stores in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, did not return calls when contacted by AFP.

The diversified company also has oil and gas, automotive, and mobile phone activities, according to its website.

The stock rose 2.35 percent in morning trade in the United States on Wednesday to 0.087 dollars, but gained 30 percent on Monday and 14.8 percent on Tuesday in the days running up to the detection of the campaign.

"It turns out that it's one of the kinds of spam that actually works," said John Levine, chair of US-based Anti-Spam Research Group.

"There are at least two academic studies that show that the share does go up and the bad guys make money."

Sophos estimates that "pump-and-dump" stock campaigns account for about 25 percent of all spam nowadays, up from less than 1.0 percent in January 2005.

Levine, who is also the author of hit book "Internet for Dummies," says the perpetrators are extremely difficult to catch despite efforts by stock market regulators and police.

"Spamming used to be about guys selling fake viagra from their basements," he said. "Now it's likely to be international crime gangs."

Cluley from Sophos said the share-ramping scams target small stocks, often worth a fraction of a cent, which require only a small increase to deliver big gains.

"They send out fake news about a tiny stock and there are so many day-traders out there that are ready to jump on the bandwagon," he said, referring to amateur investors who play the stock market from home.

The emails promoting Prime Time Stores stock, which are being propagated by thousands of virus-infected home computers whose owners are unaware, has a PDF attachment that contains the investment advice.

The use of a PDF file, a special document-friendly format, makes it easier for the email to slip through spam filters, Cluley said.

Levine has clear advice for anyone tempted to act on unsolicited investment advice sent via email.

"No stranger would ever give you a stock tip for your own good. It was true in the 1920s and it's just as true now," he said.
--AFP