When you're a celebrity or a high profile citizen, it's not uncommon to be targeted by selfish individuals looking to make a dollar at your expense. It's possible that Steve Jobs has fallen victim to a phishing scam that may have given access to his Amazon account.CultofMac.com is reporting that they have been contacted by a phishing artist who managed to get into Steve Jobs' Amazon account by claiming to have "sent Jobs a phony but official-looking email that tricked him into logging onto a fake Amazon.com website".
Like any greedy individual, the phishing artist wants to sell the details of what items Jobs has purchased, which he claims to be over 20,000 items over the last 10 years, or about 5 items a day.
The phishing artist goes by the name of orin0co, and claims neither Jobs nor Amazon knew of the intrusion because he didn't change the password on the account. The phishing attack was a well-crafted email that "instead of spamming millions with scattershot email scams, ...targeted high-worth corporate executives with cleverly-crafted emails full of personal details. The executives received messages that appeared to come from the Better Business Bureau, Internal Revenue Service, or Federal Trade Commission, among others."
Even if this turns out to be a hoax, it's a good reminder to keep strong and secure passwords. Use a variation of numbers, letters and symbols when possible and don't keep the same password for every site.
















1. Register to Amazon.
2. Tell them my name is Steve Jobs on the registration page
3. Buy some things
4. ...
5. profit
SOOOO FAKE !
Which apparently works just swell, eh?
But I guess this blows the whole, Mac's are 100% secure and don't have any worries commercial out of the water. Good job, orin0co!
But I guess this blows the whole, Mac's are 100% secure and don't have any worries commercial out of the water. Good job, orin0co!
What does having a weak password, or replying to a phishing email have to do with your OS security?
Let me answer for that for you, since you seem to miss the linkage.
There is no link. No corresponding statistic. No connection.
But I guess this blows the whole, Mac's are 100% secure and don't have any worries commercial out of the water. Good job, orin0co!
What does having a weak password, or replying to a phishing email have to do with your OS security?
Let me answer for that for you, since you seem to miss the linkage.
There is no link. No corresponding statistic. No connection.
Because Outlook and/or IE8 would've warned him that it's a phishing site or phishing e-mail. Mac's don't do that hence the great Steve Jobs is tricked into giving up his personal details.
That's the link.
Brb going to grab pitchfork for the witch hunt.
That was just wrong dude....
[< snipped > - Calum]
Last edited by Calum on 14 May 2009 - 20:06
See my above post 1.6
If you think that a weak password, or falling for social engineering has anything to do with how secure the OS is, then I pray you don't work with computers.
If you think that a weak password, or falling for social engineering has anything to do with how secure the OS is, then I pray you don't work with computers.
What "post 1.6"?
And do you really think that anyone who hacks anything Apple related is an "idiot"? Where did all the moderational zeal on the "calling other people names" go?
BTW, Neowin + Firefox =
If you think that a weak password, or falling for social engineering has anything to do with how secure the OS is, then I pray you don't work with computers.
What "post 1.6"?
And do you really think that anyone who hacks anything Apple related is an "idiot"? Where did all the moderational zeal on the "calling other people names" go?
Sorry. 2.6 Way to get pedantic on the typo.
And what the heck are you dragging me into a discussion point I did not make or support with regards to the term "idiot". Firstly, I never claimed anyone hacking an Apple is an idiot. Secondly, an Apple wasn't hacked - just an online account credential.
Save your scorn for someone else, rather than throwing it around at random.
I for one don't really feel sorry for Jobs if it is his account. He shouldn't fall victim to that stuff, but I guess he took those Mac Vs PC ads a bit too seriously...
Better have a touchscreen
Anyone can change their name on amazon to Steve Jobs. Look i just have!
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/8129/stevejobs.png
OMG I haxxored Steve's account /sarcasm
Unless there is actual proof that this is THE Steve Jobs' account then this is worthless......
EDIT: Removed image tags as it's a bit big.
I know right? Unprofessional doesnt have to mean low-class
Agreed. Keep personal opinions.. well.. personal.
And Microsoft is a better company because they donate so much. That's just very kind of them, so stop calling them M$.
However, in this case, it's a moot point. Safari has the same phishing protection as Firefox. You can only detect a phishing attack if it's been discovered before, and I doubt someone would target Jobs with a mass mailing.
Additionally, it's probably a fake. It's easy enough to say "Look who I hacked!". It's another to actually prove that the account belongs to them.
Exactly.
The browser in question is not "Webkit" it's Safari. And it is BAD. Why would any browser let sites to palce executible files on your desktop without your consent? (non-issue for Apple)
And if it happens to be genuine, the idiot isn't the person selling the data. The true idiot is the person who thinks it is money well spent. So Steve bought some stuff on Amazon, how does that impact anyone's life? Get a grip.
And if it happens to be genuine, the idiot isn't the person selling the data. The true idiot is the person who thinks it is money well spent. So Steve bought some stuff on Amazon, how does that impact anyone's life? Get a grip.
For once I agree. I couldn't care less what famous people have purchased... how will this benefit anyone in any way?
And if it happens to be genuine, the idiot isn't the person selling the data. The true idiot is the person who thinks it is money well spent. So Steve bought some stuff on Amazon, how does that impact anyone's life? Get a grip.
I also agree with you for once, but highly doubt this is genuine.
I heard they did it for people selling the free tickets to Obama's inauguration.
If he had been on a Mac using Safari, this would have never happened."
They are? Most of the Mac people would disagree with you.
Phishing filters should not be a requirement. Simple as that. Someone as educated in the tech industry as Steve Jobs knows when they are being targeted. They know the signs to look for. They know to check for security certificates, and valid ones at that, for big sites like Amazon. So I am 100% sure that this is fake.
Regardless, say he was an everyday Joe. Safari has anti-phishing built in. Mail has pretty good spam/phishing detection. And the OS simply has nothing to do with it.
The way a phishing filter works is through past experience. If a phishing site is discovered, it is added to a large list of other sites. Same way a virus works: different routine to create it, different routine to remove it. You can't just say "he should've used a different browser" because a site wasn't yet added to the filter. If an attack is aimed specifically at one person, an idea not too far out of the question, a phishing filter will not detect it. Even if it's detected as spam, some people may click through.
But we have to go back to the first point and be rational about this. We're talking about a billionaire who made it through the tech industry. Not just a businessman, but a businessman who sold computers through the birth of the Internet. He knows what a phishing attack is as well as anyone on this site, and I doubt any of us would blindly put our password into a site linked to us in a e-mail.
What good is a strong password if you're dumb enough to get phished?
What good is a strong password if you're dumb enough to get phished?
Amateur articles at their finest.
http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?auto...;showentry=2792
Impartial? You tell me....
Ontopic:
This is important because I believe that Amazon has their member's personal details and anyways he might have bought things that he doesnt want to get in the public eye.
On a related note, kinda stupid being in the computer industry and not being able to detect with your own eyes a phishing scam.
If Amazon/paypal/eBay/etc. said to me in an email (like most phishing scams do) you have to log onto your account to update some new security questions, click here:, I would delete THEN GO TO AMAZON.COM MYSELF, typing it in or my OWN bookmark, and logging in to check. Why people believe convenience is ok to be lazy and get screwed I have no clue. Just dumb and ignorant if you ask me.
That beats ANY issue about "oh safari is terrible, IE is terrible, should have used outlook, etc."...actually its the email 'provider' that needs to warn you [if IT knows about it that is], they 'are' the ones handling it first...duh.
Now earlier comments made a good point earlier, its probably fake anyway, and as well, who cares its not like its his bank account details that are up for grabs...
Give Forrest back his company he would not fall for that!
If? Wow. People can be so gullible.
I guess it wasn't too complex for him to figure it out
and if its not shopped then its just a fake (or a guy with the same name).
Last edited by Magallanes on 15 May 2009 - 16:35
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