New Malware Makes Fradulent Charges and Hides the Evidence
Wired's Threat Level describes a threatening advancement in malware technology that targets online banking. The Trojan horse program can not only transfer money away from your bank account it can also alter the display on the fly so that when you pull up your bank account with your web browser you won't notice the fraudulent transfer.
The sophisticated hack uses a Trojan horse program installed on the victim's machine that alters html coding before it's displayed in the user's browser, to either erase evidence of a money transfer transaction entirely from a bank statement, or alter the amount of money transfers and balances.
The ruse buys the crooks time before a victim discovers the fraud, though won't work if a victim uses an uninfected machine to check his or her bank balance.
The novel technique was employed in August by a gang who targeted customers of leading German banks and stole Euro 300,000 in three weeks, according to Yuval Ben-Itzhak, chief technology officer of computer security firm Finjan.
"The Trojan is hooked into your browser and dynamically modifies the text in the html," Ben-Itzhak says. "It's a very sophisticated technique."
It idea behind the malware is that if you don't notice the fradulent transaction, then you won't report it. Wired says you would notice the fraudulent transaction on your bank account if you viewed it with an uninfected computer.
Malware is a growing concern for businesses and the public. CNET reports that malware increased worldwide by 15% in September.
