Jamaicans scammed - Cyber crimes expert advises caution when accessing Internet in public spaces abroad

JAMAICANS AND others in the region who travel to places like the United States are now falling prey to a new form of Internet scamming.

Dr Marc Gercke, an international cybercrimes expert, said the new scam is referred to as spear phishing. He said the practice is becoming increasingly popular as Jamaicans travel to America on vacation and business trips.

Gercke explained that the scammers target travellers who are using public Internet terminals to check their emails or social-networking profiles and fleece them of their personal information.

Using the example of a hotel lobby, Gercke said scammers would hang around, waiting for unsuspecting users, and then download the users' logged keystrokes to ascertain personal information such as email passwords and personal data.

"Criminals go to the lobbies and they sit with machines in the lobbies with keyloggers, and everything is recorded and is given to the criminals, and that means they have access to your accounts," Gercke said.

He explained further that the criminals would then send out information to friends and family members back home, indicating that they were having some problems and needed money.

FRIENDS, FAMILY TRICKED

Referring to a popular location, Miami, which several Jamaicans visit annually, Gercke added: "They will access your email accounts, change the passwords, and send an email to all your friends saying, 'I'm currently in Miami' - which is true, and your friends would have known you are in Miami. 'All my things are lost and I need to pay for the hotel and everything. Could you send some money?'"

The expert said many persons would naturally send the money because they would have already known that their relative or friend was in Miami and it was possible that the person's cell phone was not on roaming.

Gercke said this is one of the latest trends in cybercrime that affect many persons, who usually do not make a report to the police. As a result, he is urging travellers to take extra precautions when accessing the Internet in public spaces abroad.