Buyer beware after TradeMe crime

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411749/2193493

ONE News
Oct 10, 2008 

Online buyers who think they have bagged themselves electronics at 
prices too good to be true, could be right.

The team at TradeMe have led police to a Hamilton man they claim used 
fake identities to sell electronics at a bargain.

The 29-year-old is also accused of hijacking people's wireless internet 
connections to sell the goods. He is facing 46 charges.

TradeMe had been following the cyber-criminal's bargain goods for 
several months.

"These people have gone out there, tried to fake their identity, tried 
to steal an internet connection but the fact is you're still going to 
get caught because you can't erase every track that you leave on the 
internet" says Dean Winter, TradeMe.

With fake IDs, he was logging into TradeMe and selling stolen laptops, 
iPods and digital cameras at cheap prices.

He would travel round the city with a stolen computer, searching for 
wireless internet connections.

He would enter and conduct his criminal business, and the bill payer of 
the wireless connection would have no idea until police came knocking on 
their door.

Sergeant Carl Moon says buyers who don't use common sense could end up 
involved in something unlawful. If they buy something that's been 
stolen, they could end up culpable.

He says one way to prevent that happening is to ask for serial numbers 
and the history of an item before purchase.

NetSafe says that while hijacking a wireless connection is common, this 
is the first time they've heard of criminal activity conducted using 
someone else's internet.

"The criminal activity is associated with their internet connection so 
it really has added another layer of concern to people who have wireless 
networks," says Martin Cocker, NetSafe.

Police arrested the man after carrying out 22 search warrants at 
properties between Auckland and Timaru.


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