schmiggens
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Harry Potter Author Warns Of Hogwarts Phishing Scam
Phishing criminals hit a new low this week when British author J.K. Rowling warned Harry Potter fans Tuesday of scammers claiming to sell e-book editions of her next novel.
"You should NEVER trust any Harry Potter e-book offered for download from the Internet or on P2P/file-trading networks," Rowling wrote on her Web site. "Setting aside the fact that these books are illegal (there are no authorized HP e-books to date), they may infect your computer with viruses [or] leave you vulnerable to the dangers of hacking and/or credit card fraud."
In the scam, customers receive e-mail that asks for bank account information to pay for an electronic copy of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth installment of the Potter saga that's scheduled for a July 16 release.
Phishing attacks typically start with an e-mail requesting that a user update his or her credit card or bank account information to retain access rights for online banking or to use services such as eBay or PayPal. The users are then directed to a bogus Web site that looks like the real deal, but actually feeds the data to the crook. Phishing scams shilling products, as in this case, are relatively rare.
"They were asking for money and people's credit cards," Rowling's copyright lawyer Neil Blair told Reuters. "This was a phishing scam." The site supposedly selling the e-books has been closed down by Rowling's attorneys, and is currently offline.
"I would bet the original manuscript of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" itself that this will not be the last attempt to con HP fans," added Rowling. "Please, please protect yourselves and do not fall for these scams."
- Information Week
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02-03-2005 08:09 AM
