Facebook accounts hacked for $100. New customers get a free toaster!
If you've ever wanted to crack open the Facebook account of an ex, or a boss that you just loathe, then there is a service that will do just that, for as little as $100 USD. Ok, no not really, but it will take your money. That fact is certain, according to Luis Corrons of Panda Security.
Corrons, with some help from another researcher at Panda, Sean-Paul Correll, discovered a Facebook Hacking business that promises, “any Facebook account can be hacked.” The cost for the Facebook compromise is $100 USD, paid by Western Union.
“The service’s real purpose may be hacking Facebook accounts as they say, or profiting from those that want to try the service. In any case, the Web page is very well designed. It is easy to contract the service and become either the victim of an online fraud, or a cyber-criminal and accomplice in identity theft,” Corrons said in a statement.
“Once an intruder hacks into a Facebook account, all personal data published on the site can be stolen. Similarly, those accounts can also be used to send malware, spam or other threats to the victim’s contacts. In the case of celebrities of other well-known entities, they can be used to defame the account holder, spread information in their name, etc. In any event, this is criminal activity.”
It is likely that the cybercriminals behind this operation are members of an Eastern European Internet mafia, Panda said, because payments are conducted online through Western Union to a payee in Ukraine. The domain that hosts the service is registered in Moscow, providing further evidence of this theory.
Oddly, to back the service and offer a level of legitimacy, the company promising the Facebook hacking claims to have been offering this service for four years, with only one percent of accounts hack-proof, thus the customer gets their money back. However, the domain is just a few days old.
While Corrons knew the site was a scam from the start, that didn’t prevent him from setting up a dummy Facebook account to test the service. Entering the Facebook user ID number, the service reported a successful hack. However, to get access Corrons needed to fork over $100 USD.
Once you pay the money, entering the information to use Western Union to wire funds to Nikita Volgin, the funds are promised to hit your site account instantly. The service even offers bonuses if you pay more than the base fee. Yet, will the money really appear into your account?
“Of course it won't, as this is all about taking the money from users. And at the end, as the user wanted to hack an account, he won't call the police,” Corrons said, proving that criminals scamming criminals is sometimes the easiest money of all.
Images of the site, and some added details and thoughts are on the Panda Security
Sunday 20 September 2009
Facebook accounts hacked for $100
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