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Crowdsec: a replacement for Fail2ban

Security
  • DownPWundefined

    What is Crowdsec?

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    CrowdSec is a free, open-source and collaborative IPS.
    Analyze behaviors, respond to attacks & share signals across the community.

    Imagined by the French Philippe Humeau, ex-founder of a high security host and by Thibault Koechlin, pentester, and DevSecOps, CrowdSec in 2019 is a 100% open source tool that combines 2 ideas well known to server administrators.

    The first idea is to be able to automatically ban an IP connecting to your server, a bit like a Fail2ban. And the second idea is to offer a database of these IPs to the community of CrowdSec users, a bit like AbuseIPDB does, in order to circulate the information quickly and so that everyone can be protected in turn.

    It is therefore a clever trade-off between the behavior of an IP address on your server and its reputation that determines whether it is a legitimate IP or that of an attacker. A bit like arriving in front of a nightclub where you have never set foot and the bouncer already knows your reputation.

    This allows you to detect all types of attacks and respond to them in a proportionate way at any level of your infrastructure (from the CDN to the application level)

    Developed in Go, this open source tool is inspired by the philosophy of Fail2ban, and uses Grok models and YAML syntax to analyze your server logs. Once the malicious IP is intercepted, CrowdSec is able to remediate the threats using different bouncers (block, 403, Captchas, etc.) and the blocked @IPs are then shared among all users to further improve a little more safety for everyone.

    So how does it work?

    Well, your server produces logs and different data sources (cloud trails, data from your applications, etc.) containing the IP addresses of the machines that access this service.

    A CrowdSec service, super simple to set up on your machine, then takes care of observing all of this in real time or retroactively for post-analysis on cold logs.

    Then, using parsers (Parsers) that you can set up quite easily either by writing them yourself or by downloading them from the CrowdSec site, the behavior of each IP address found in the logs is analyzed.

    The CrowdSec agent normalizes (using the GROK scheme) and then enriches this IP address with additional information such as the country of origin of the IP, its AS of origin, the range to which it belongs, then searches in the CrowdSec community database if this IP has already been noticed on another server. Obviously, if the answer is yes, it is blocked.

    If it is a new IP address with malicious behavior, different remediation scenarios can be offered to it: request a captcha, drop a packet, block access to an area of ​​the site, require double authentication, or end up with a pure blockage and simple. On the other hand, despite reading the documentation, there is no possibility of launching a drone attack equipped with missiles on the location of the IP.

    Once the IP address has been identified, it is accompanied by a timestamp and its scenario and then exported to the CrowdSec database.

    ⚠️ By default, CrowdSec does not block detected IPs so if you want to block them, you will have to go to the hub and install the blocker of your choice (Bouncers).

    There are Bouncers for WordPress, Cloudflare, Nginx or for Firewalls like iptables or nftables.

    Once again, it is you who determines the rules to apply according to the situations and the entry points, and CrowdSec is thus able to detect traditional attacks like a bruteforce or a web / ports scan until attacks much more elaborate and targeted, involving for example the use of 0day vulnerabilities, and this on all the services present on the machine (application, DNS, mail, web server, etc.). Too bad for the smart ones! 🙂

    As you will have understood, it is hyper granular in approach and if the IP address in question turns out to belong to bad bad guys, it is then shared with the whole of the benevolent community of CrowdSec via their database. 'IP.

    Regarding the community aspect of IP sharing, it is rather well thought out since IPs are evaluated by CrowdSec on the one hand and trust scores are gradually assigned to machines using CrowdSec. This prevents any poisoning of the database by spammers and limits false positives.

    CrowdSec is developed in Go and can be installed on a cloud or traditional server, deployed in a container or used via its API.

    Calls to the community IP list are indeed made via an API, which allows it to be used also on machines with little CPU/RAM as connected objects. Thus, a connected object, even if not very powerful, could simply take advantage of CrowdSec’s IP reputation system without having to sacrifice performance. Enough to make your home automation installation survive and avoid finding yourself in a house that behaves strangely in Exorcist mode.

    For example, CrowdSec helped one of its users, and therefore its entire community, avoid a botnet attack consisting of more than 7,000 zombie machines, in less than a minute, or a vast scam attempt on an e-commerce site with stolen bank cards carried out from more than 3,000 different IP addresses

    Regarding its license, CrowdSec has been under the MIT open source license since May 2020. It is therefore free to use and can be deployed under Unix / Linux system and soon under Windows and maCOS.

    The community database remains freely accessible for all CrowdSec users who contribute to it and the company finances itself by offering this database to other companies who do not contribute to it and who would like to integrate it directly into their workflows with additional private pool features for IP consensus, self-monitoring or even for broader monitoring (server fleet).

    The arrival of the Local API

    With the arrival of version 1.0 of CrowdSec, the architecture has evolved with the arrival of a Local REST API service.

    Thus all CrowdSec components (daemon, client and bouncers) can communicate with each other via a REST API, rather than reading/writing directly in the database.

    Only the Local API service interacts with the database (SQLite, PostgreSQL or MySQL) and this has several advantages, particularly at the level of the bouncers which can now operate completely independently, using the API and no longer direct access to the database. data. Thus, future changes in the database schema will no longer have any impact on the bouncers.

    245a3a89-b944-4a09-8a2e-587ef97ac5df-image.png

    This change also makes it possible to set up distributed configurations on several machines in a totally transparent way. We can imagine a machine running the local API, different CrowdSec agents analyzing the logs on several machines and bouncers also on other machines.

    This brings good modularity to the CrowdSec system and a certain durability in the continuation of the project and deployments among its users.

    #Link

    Website: https://crowdsec.net

    Documentation: https://docs.crowdsec.net/docs/getting_started/install_crowdsec

    My french tutorial installation here, liked by Phillipe Humeau himself, one of the designers of Crowdsec 🙂

    Very good security software, test it 😉

    PW and WS Spirit alive

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  • phenomlabundefined

    @DownPW this is a fantastic article - very well received indeed. I’ve actually read a lot about this particular product and always promised myself I’d take a good look at it once I had more time.

    As my professional role is Chief Information Security Officer for a financial institution, I cannot stress enough the importance of taking security seriously in today’s world.

    Author of OGProxy, Swatch, Threaded, and most of Sudonix's bugs…

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  • DownPWundefined

    @phenomlab

    No they have a free and pro console instance.
    We can see alert with IP, Source AS, scenario attack etc…

    Installation on the NODEBB server without problems. Very good tools

    cf7e5a89-84f4-435b-82eb-434c0bfc895e-image.png
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    –
    We can also do research on IPs via the crowdsec analyzer

    I believe it’s 500 per month in the Free version

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    PW and WS Spirit alive

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  • DownPWundefined

    Setting for high load and prevent DDoS (sysctl, iptables, crowdsec or other)

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    phenomlabundefined

    @DownPW 🙂 most of this really depends on your desired security model. In all cases with firewalls, less is always more, although it’s never as clear cut as that, and there are always bespoke ports you’ll need to open periodically.

    Heztner’s DDoS protection is superior, and I know they have invested a lot of time, effort, and money into making it extremely effective. However, if you consider that the largest ever DDoS attack hit Cloudflare at 71m rps (and they were able to deflect it), and each attack can last anywhere between 8-24 hours which really depends on how determined the attacker(s) is/are, you can never be fully prepared - nor can you trace it’s true origin.

    DDoS attacks by their nature (Distributed Denial of Service) are conducted by large numbers of devices whom have become part of a “bot army” - and in most cases, the owners of these devices are blissfully unaware that they have been attacked and are under command and control from a nefarious resource. Given that the attacks originate from multiple sources, this allows the real attacker to observe from a distance whilst concealing their own identity and origin in the process.

    If you consider the desired effect of DDoS, it is not an attempt to access ports that are typically closed, but to flood (and eventually overwhelm) the target (such as a website) with millions of requests per second in an attempt to force it offline. Victims of DDoS attacks are often financial services for example, with either extortion or financial gain being the primary objective - in other words, pay for the originator to stop the attack.

    It’s even possible to get DDoS as a service these days - with a credit card, a few clicks of a mouse and a target IP, you can have your own proxy campaign running in minutes which typically involves “booters” or “stressers” - see below for more

    https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/ddos-as-a-service-attacks-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-work

    @DownPW said in Setting for high load and prevent DDoS (sysctl, iptables, crowdsec or other):

    in short if you have any advice to give to secure the best.

    It’s not just about DDos or firewalls. There are a number of vulnerabilities on all systems that if not patched, will expose that same system to exploit. One of my favourite online testers which does a lot more than most basic ones is below

    https://www.immuniweb.com/websec/

    I’d start with the findings reported here and use that to branch outwards.

  • DownPWundefined

    North Korean Hackers Exploit Unpatched Zimbra Devices in 'No Pineapple' Campaign

    Vulnerability
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    phenomlabundefined

    @DownPW here. Hostrisk is automated and doesn’t accept registrations.

  • phenomlabundefined

    Facebook fined for forcing users to agree to personalised ads

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    phenomlabundefined

    @crazycells exactly. Not so long ago, we had the Cambridge Analytica scandal in the UK. Meta (Facebook) seem to be the ultimate “Teflon” company in the sense nothing seems to stick.

  • DownPWundefined

    Installing and Configuring CrowdSec in Cloudflare

    Security
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    phenomlabundefined

    @DownPW yeah, I seem to spend a large amount of my time trying to educate people that there’s no silver bullet when it comes to security.

  • phenomlabundefined

    Why you should never neglect physical security

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    phenomlabundefined

    bg-min-dark.webp
    It’s a common occurrence in today’s modern world that virtually all organisations have a considerable budget (or a strong focus on) information and cyber security. Often, larger organisations spend millions annually on significant improvements to their security program or framework, yet overlook arguably the most fundamental basics which should be (but are often not) the building blocks of any fortified stronghold.

    We’ve spent so much time concentrating on the virtual aspect of security and all that it encompasses, but seem to have lost sight of what should arguably be the first item on the list – physical security. It doesn’t matter how much money and effort you plough into designing and securing your estate when you consider how vulnerable and easily negated the program or framework is if you neglect the physical element. Modern cyber crime has evolved, and it’s the general consensus these days that the traditional perimeter as entry point is rapidly losing its appeal from the accessibility versus yield perspective. Today’s discerning criminal is much more inclined to go for a softer and predictable target in the form of users themselves rather than spend hours on reconnaissance and black box probing looking for backdoors or other associated weak points in a network or associated infrastructure.

    Physical vs virtual

    So does this mean you should be focusing your efforts on the physical elements solely, and ignoring the perimeter altogether ? Absolutely not – doing so would be commercial suicide. However, the physical element should not be neglected either, but instead factored into any security design at the outset instead of being an afterthought. I’ve worked for a variety of organisations over my career – each of them with differing views and attitudes to risk concerning physical security. From the banking and finance sector to manufacturing, they all have common weaknesses. Weaknesses that should, in fact, have been eliminated from the outset rather than being a part of the everyday activity. Take this as an example. In order to qualify for buildings and contents insurance, business with office space need to ensure that they have effective measures in place to secure that particular area. In most cases, modern security mechanisms dictate that proximity card readers are deployed at main entrances, rendering access impossible (when the locking mechanism is enforced) without a programmed access card or token. But how “impossible” is that access in reality ?

    Organisations often take an entire floor of a building, or at least a subset of it. This means that any doors dividing floors or areas occupied by other tenants must be secured against unauthorised access. Quite often, these floors have more than one exit point for a variety of health and safety / fire regulation reasons, and it’s this particular scenario that often goes unnoticed, or unintentionally overlooked. Human nature dictates that it’s quicker to take the side exit when leaving the building rather than the main entrance, and the last employee leaving (in an ideal world) has the responsibility of ensuring that the door is locked behind them when they leave. However, the reality is often the case instead where the door is held open by a fire extinguisher for example. Whilst this facilitates effective and easy access during the day, it has a significant impact to your physical security if that same door remains open and unattended all night. I’ve seen this particular offence repeatedly committed over months – not days or weeks – in most organisations I’ve worked for. In fact, this exact situation allowed thieves to steal a laptop left on the desk in an office of a finance firm I previously worked at.

    Theft in general is mostly based around opportunity. As a paradigm, you could leave a £20 note / $20 bill on your desk and see how long it remained there before it went missing. I’m not implying here that anyone in particular is a thief, but again, it’s about opportunity. The same process can be aligned to Information security. It’s commonplace to secure information systems with passwords, least privilege access, locked server rooms, and all the other usual mechanisms, but what about the physical elements ? It’s not just door locks. It’s anything else that could be classed as sensitive, such as printed documents left on copiers long since forgotten and unloved, personally identifiable information left out on desks, misplaced smartphones, or even keys to restricted areas such as usually locked doors or cupboards. That 30 second window could be all that would be required to trigger a breach of security – and even worse, of information classed as sensitive. Not only could your insurance refuse to pay out if you could not demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that you had the basic physical security measures in place, but (in the EU) you would have to notify the regulator (in this case, the ICO) that information had been stolen. Not only would it be of significant embarrassment to any firm that a “chancer” was able to casually stroll in and take anything they wanted unchallenged, but significant in terms of the severity of such an information breach – and the resultant fines imposed by the ICO or SEC (from the regulatory perspective – in this case, GDPR) – at €20m or 4% of annual global (yes, global) turnover (if you were part of a larger organisation, then that is actually 4% of the parent entity turnover – not just your firm) – whichever is the highest. Of equal significance is the need to notify the ICO within 72 hours of a discovered breach. In the event of electronic systems, you could gain intelligence about what was taken from a centralised logging system (if you have one – that’s another horror story altogether if you don’t and you are breached) from the “electronic” angle of any breach via traditional cyber channels, but do you know exactly what information has taken residence on desks ? Simple answer ? No.

    It’s for this very reason that several firms operate a “clean desk” policy. Not just for aesthetic reasons, but for information security reasons. Paper shredders are a great invention, but they lack AI and machine learning to wheel themselves around your office looking for sensitive hard copy (printed) data to destroy in order for you to remain compliant with your information security policy (now there’s an invention…).

    But how secure are these “unbreakable” locks ? Despite the furore around physical security in the form of smart locks, thieves seem to be able to bypass these “security measures” with little effort. Here’s a short video courtesy of ABC news detailing just how easy it was (and still is in some cases) to gain access to hotel rooms using cheap technology, tools, and “how-to” articles from YouTube.

    Surveillance systems aren’t exempt either. As an example, a camera system can be rendered useless with a can of spray paint or even something as simple as a grocery bag if it’s in full view. Admittedly, this would require some previous reconnaissance to determine the camera locations before committing any offence, but it’s certainly a viable prospect of that system is not monitored regularly. Additionally, (in the UK at least) the usage of CCTV in a commercial setting requires a written visible notice to be displayed informing those affected that they are in fact being recorded (along with an impact assessment around the usage), and is also subject to various other controls around privacy, usage, security, and retention periods.

    Unbreakable locks ?

    Then there’s the “unbreakable” door lock. Tapplock advertised their “unbreakable smart lock” only to find that it was vulnerable to the most basic of all forced entry – the screwdriver. Have a look at this article courtesy of “The Register”. In all seriousness, there aren’t that many locks that cannot be effectively bypassed. Now, I know what you’re thinking. If the lock cannot be effectively opened, then how do you gain entry ? It’s much simpler than you think. For a great demonstration, we’ll hand over to a scene from “RED” that shows exactly how this would work. The lock itself may have pass-code that “…changes every 6 hours…” and is “unbreakable”, but that doesn’t extend to the material that holds both the door and the access panel for the lock itself.

    And so onto the actual point. Unless your “unbreakable” door lock is housed within fortified brick or concrete walls and impervious to drills, oxy-acetylene cutting equipment, and proximity explosive charges (ok, that’s a little over the top…), it should not be classed as “secure”. Some of the best examples I’ve seen are a metal door housed in a plasterboard / false wall. Personally, if I wanted access to the room that badly, I’d go through the wall with the nearest fire extinguisher rather than fiddle with the lock itself. All it takes is to tap on the wall, and you’ll know for sure if it’s hollow just by the sound it makes. Finally, there’s the even more ridiculous – where you have a reinforced door lock with a viewing pane (of course, glass). Why bother with the lock when you can simply shatter the glass, put your hand through, and unlock the door ?

    Conclusion

    There’s always a variety of reasons as to why you wouldn’t build your comms room out of brick or concrete – mostly attributed to building and landlord regulations in premises that businesses occupy. Arguably, if you wanted to build something like this, and occupied the ground floor, then yes, you could indeed carry out this work if it was permitted. Most data centres that are truly secure are patrolled 24 x 7 by security, are located underground, or within heavily fortified surroundings. Here is an example of one of the most physically secure data centres in the world.

    https://www.identiv.com/resources/blog/the-worlds-most-secure-buildings-bahnhof-data-center

    Virtually all physical security aspects eventually circle back to two common topics – budget, and attitude to risk. The real question here is what value you place on your data – particularly if you are a custodian of it, but the data relates to others. Leaking data because of exceptionally weak security practices in today’s modern age is an unfortunate risk – one that you cannot afford to overlook.

    What are your thoughts around physical security ?

  • phenomlabundefined

    Changing Passwords Regularly Actually Weakens Security

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    phenomlabundefined

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    The recent high profile breaches impacting organisations large and small are a testament to the fact that no matter how you secure credentials, they will always be subject to exploit. Can a password alone ever be enough ? in my view, it’s never enough. The enforced minimum should be at least with a secondary factor. Regardless of how “secure” you consider your password to be, it really isn’t in most cases – it just “complies” with the requirement being enforced.

    Here’s classic example. We take the common password of “Welcome123” and put it into a password strength checker
    1564764162-304322-password1.png
    According to the above, it’s “strong”. Actually, it isn’t. It’s only considered this way because it meets the complexity requirements, with 1 uppercase letter, at least 8 characters, and numbers. What’s also interesting is that a tool sponsored by Dashlane considers the same password as acceptable, taking supposedly 8 months to break
    1564764192-579936-password2.png
    How accurate is this ? Not accurate at all. The password of “Welcome123” is in fact one of the passwords contained in any penetration tester’s toolkit – and, by definition, also used by cyber criminals. As most of this password combination is in fact made up of a dictionary word, plus sequential numbers, it would take less than a second to break this rather than the 8 months reported above. Need further evidence of this ? Have a look at haveibeenpwned, which will provide you with a mechanism to test just how many times “Welcome123” has appeared in data breaches
    1564764241-350631-hibp.png

    Why are credentials so weak ?

    My immediate response to this is that for as long as humans have habits, and create scenarios that enable them to easily remember their credentials, then this weakness will always exist. If you look at a sample taken from the LinkedIn breach, those passwords that occupy the top slots are arguably the least secure, but the easiest to remember from the human perspective. Passwords such as “password” and “123456” may be easy for users to remember, but on the flip side, weak credentials like this can be broken by a simple dictionary attack in less than a second.

    Here’s a selection of passwords still in use today – hopefully, yours isn’t on there
    1564764251-257407-passwordlist.jpeg
    We as humans are relatively simplistic when it comes to credentials and associated security methods. Most users who do not work in the security industry have little understanding, desire to understand, or patience, and will naturally choose the route that makes their life easier. After all, technology is supposed to increase productivity, and make tasks easier to perform, right ? Right. And it’s this exact vulnerability that a cyber criminal will exploit to it’s full potential.

    Striking a balance between the security of credentials and ease of recall has always had it’s challenges. A classic example is that networks, websites and applications nowadays typically have password policies in place that only permit the use of a so-called strong password. Given the consolidation and overall assortment of letters, numbers, non-alphanumeric characters, uppercase and lowercase, the password itself is probably “secure” to an acceptable extent, although the method of storing the credentials isn’t. A shining example of this is the culture of writing down sensitive information such as credentials. I’ve worked in some organisations where users have actually attached their password to their monitor. Anyone looking for easy access into a computer network is onto an immediate winner here, and unauthorised access or a full blown breach could occur within an alarmingly short period of time.

    Leaked credentials and attacks from within

    You could argue that you would need access to the computer itself first, but in several historical breach scenarios, the attack originated from within. In this case, it may not be an active employee, but someone who has access to the area where that particular machine is located. Any potential criminal has the credentials – well, the password itself, but what about the username ? This is where a variety of techniques can be used in terms of username discovery – in fact, most of them being non-technical – and worryingly simple to execute. Think about what is usually on a desk in an office. The most obvious place to look for the username would be on the PC itself. If the user had recently logged out, or locked their workstation, then on a windows network, that would give you the username unless a group policy was in place. Failing that, most modern desk phones display the name of the user. On Cisco devices, under Extension Mobility, is the ID of the user. It doesn’t take long to find this. Finally there’s the humble business card. A potential criminal can look at the email address format, remove the domain suffix, and potentially predict the username. Most companies tend to leverage the username in email addresses mainly thanks to SMTP template address policies – certainly true in on premise Exchange environments or Office 365 tenants.

    The credentials are now paired. The password has been retrieved in clear text, and by using a simple discovery technique, the username has also been acquired. Sometimes, a criminal can get extremely lucky and be able to acquire credentials with minimal effort. Users have a habit of writing down things they cannot recall easily, and in some cases, the required information is relatively easily divulged without too much effort on the part of the criminal. Sounds absurd and far fetched, doesn’t it ? Get into your office early, or work late one evening, and take a walk around the desks. You’ll be unpleasantly surprised at what you will find. Amongst the plethora of personal effects such as used gym towels and footwear, I guarantee that you will find information that could be of significant use to a criminal – not necessarily readily available in the form of credentials, but sufficient information to create a mechanism for extraction via an alternative source. But who would be able to use such information ?

    Think about this for a moment. You generally come into a clean office in the mornings, so cleaners have access to your office space. I’m not accusing anyone of anything unscrupulous or illegal here, but you do need to be realistic. This is the 21st century, and as a result, it is a security measure you need to factor in and adopt into your overall cyber security policy and strategy. Far too much focus is placed on securing the perimeter network, and not enough on the threat that lies within. A criminal could get a job as a cleaner at a company, and spend time collecting intelligence in terms of what could be a vulnerability waiting to be exploited. Another example of “instant intelligence” is the network topology map. Some of us are not blessed with huge screens, and need to make do with one ancient 19″ or perhaps two. As topology maps can be quite complex, it’s advantageous to be able to print these in A3 format to make it easier to digest. You may also need to print copies of this same document for meetings. The problem here is what you do with that copy once you have finished with it ?

    How do we address the issue ? Is there sufficient awareness ?

    Yes, there is. Disposing of it in the usual fashion isn’t the answer, as it can easily be recovered. The information contained in most topology maps is often extensive, and is like a goldmine to a criminal looking for intelligence about your network layout. Anything like this is classified information, and should be shredded at the earliest opportunity. Perhaps one of the worst offences I’ve ever personally experienced is a member of the IT team opening a password file, then walking away from their desk without locking their workstation. To prove a point about how easily credentials can be inadvertently leaked, I took a photo with a smartphone, then showed the offender what I’d managed to capture a few days later. Slightly embarrassed didn’t go anywhere near covering it.

    I’ve been an advocate of securing credentials for some time, and recently read about the author of “NIST Special Publication 800-63” (Bill Burr). Now retired, he has openly admitted the advice he originally provided as in fact, incorrect

    “Much of what I did I now regret.” said Mr Burr, who advised people to change their password every 90 days and use obscure characters.

    “It just drives people bananas and they don’t pick good passwords no matter what you do.”

    The overall security of credentials and passwords

    However, bearing in mind that this supposed “advice” has long been the accepted norm in terms of password securuty, let’s look at the accepted standards from a well-known auditing firm

    It would seem that the Sarbanes Oxley 404 act dictates that regular changes of credentials are mandatory, and part of the overarching controls. Any organisation that is regulated by the SEC (for example) would be covered and within scope by this statement, and so the argument for not regularly changing your password becomes “invalid” by the act definition and narrative. My overall point here is that the clearly obvious bad password advice in the case of the financial services industry is negated by a severely outdated set of controls that require you to enforce a password change cycle and be in compliance with it. In addition, there are a vast number of sites and services that force password changes on a regular basis, and really do not care about what is known to be extensive research on password generation.

    The argument for password security to be weakened by having to change it on a frequent basis is an interesting one that definitely deserves intense discussion and real-world examples, but if your password really is strong (as I mentioned previously, there are variations of this which are really not secure at all, yet are considered strong because they meet a complexity requirement), then a simple mutation of it could render it vulnerable. I took a simple lowercase phrase

    mypasswordissimpleandnotsecureatall

    1564764311-893646-nonillion.png
    The actual testing tool can be found here. So, does a potential criminal have 26 nonillion years to spare ? Any cyber criminal who possesses only basic skills won’t need a fraction of that time as this password is in fact made up of simple dictionary words, is all lowercase, and could in fact be broken in seconds.

    My opinion ? Call it how you like – the password is here to stay for the near future at least. The overall strength of the password or credentials stored using MD5, bCrypt, SHA1 and so on are irrelevant when an attacker can use established and proven techniques such as social engineering to obtain your password. Furthermore, the addition of 2FA or a SALT dramatically increases password security – as does the amount of unsuccessful attempts permitted before the associated account is locked. This is a topic that interests me a great deal. I’d love to hear your feedback and comments.

  • phenomlabundefined

    Surface Web, Deep Web, And Dark Web Explained

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    phenomlabundefined

    @justoverclock yes, completely understand that. It’s a haven for criminal gangs and literally everything is on the table. Drugs, weapons, money laundering, cyber attacks for rent, and even murder for hire.

    Nothing it seems is off limits. The dark web is truly a place where the only limitation is the amount you are prepared to spend.

  • phenomlabundefined

    Wasting a scammer's time is hugely entertaining

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    phenomlabundefined

    What would happen if a cyber criminal attempted to scam a security professional ? Well, some time ago, this happened to me. Like everyone, I certainly receive my fair share of junk email, scams, and pretty much everything else that the internet these days tends to throw at you. For the most part, each one of these “attacks” is ignored. However, one caught my eye after only the first paragraph. Not only was the format used absurd, but the supposedly “formal tone” was nothing short of a complete joke. Unfortunately, there really is no “TL;DR” synopsis for this particular event.

    Scrolling to the bottom of the article is of course up to you, but you’ll not only miss out on key information - you’ll also miss out on my sarcasm 🤣

    Admittedly, this “scam” sounds far fetched. But, believe it or not, this particular campaign has a high success rate (and, all content in this article actually happened). If this were not the case, would a potential criminal go to such lengths to impersonate and engage ? No. They rely on that one human trait known as trust. Trust which in this case is readily exploited. I promise that this article will be worth your while reading. Ready ? Buckle up. its going to be an interesting ride. During the journey, I’ll highlight the warning signs and provide an explanation into each. Let’s start.

    Day 1

    Out of the blue, I was contacted via email by someone calling themselves “Andrew Walter” - purportedly an employee at Bank of America. The first immediate sign that something is not quite all it seems here is that the email address used is in fact from the contact form on this site. What’s significant about that ? Well, there are a variety of techniques used by cyber criminals to gain access to legitimate email addresses. One known and widely used technique is the scraping of email addresses from websites and social media - in fact, the most notable is LinkedIn.

    Despite its age and somewhat basic approach, it still works very well. Why didn’t I secure it ? Simple. The contact form on this site also doubles as a honeypot. You’d be surprised what lands in here - as this “campaign” did. For the record, Phenomlab does not retain any information from this contact form. The initial text in the email might have been relatively convincing if it hadn’t contained a ”glow in the dark” grammatical error within the first line. What I’m alluding to here is that the email may as well have arrived complete with sirens and flashing lights. Here’s a snapshot

    Dear Mark Cutting. “I added you to my professional network in order to share a confidential proposal with you please contact me on my private email: andrewwalter411@gmail.com for briefing on proposal since i can not send attachment via linkedin”.

    Actually, you didn’t. I received no such request. Let’s have a look at the initial baiting technique. Who writes an email using the full name of a person without addressing them in the business (or even personal for that fact) sense ? In addition, why would you wrap what you want to say in quotes ? Finally, “I can not send attachment via LinkedIn” - actually, I received two from trusted sources in the same platform a day earlier. This email was so cringe worthy, I thought it rude to not reply ?

    Andrew, Can I ask what this is in relation to please ? Thanks

    That’s the hook that a scammer needs. After this, the response is a lot more detailed as the criminal plays out the story. I’m going to highlight the areas of interest here as I go, and have attached the full text in order to keep this article sane.

    I will start by saying thanks for your response…How is your family doing? I hope okay.

    Good start. Make it look like you know me personally and commence with the pleasantries - even though you in fact know nothing about me, and, in reality, couldn’t care less.

    My proposal is very important to me so please I want you to take the content of this mail very serious. All I want is an honest business transaction between us.

    This is anything but honest

    Day 2

    First of all, I will start by introducing myself. My name is Andrew Walter, I am currently working with Bank of America. I have been working here for 17 years now, and I have a good working record with my bank.

    That’s strange. According to the array of fake Andrew Walter (Bank of America) LinkedIn profiles, you’ve been there for 12 years. Did you step into a time machine and not tell anyone ? Perhaps you banged your head and lost 5 years in the process. What’s more than likely is that like most bad liars, you’ve lost track of what you told one person as oppose to the next. At least you tried to enforce a bit of trust with your statement around “I have a good working record with my bank”.
    1614967980-136791-linkedinpng.webp1614967988-257399-linkedin2png.webp

    I am also the personal accountant to Engineer (Lex Cutting ), a foreign contractor who has an investment account with my bank with a huge sum of money in it.

    Note the misplaced bracket here, and also note, that there is no “Lex Cutting” in my family tree. Am I a grammar snob ? No, but I expect a “business transaction” (if you can call it that) to at least not contain basic grammatical errors.

    My late client was a chemical consultant contractor with Royal Dutch Shell until his death in a fatal car accident while at France on sabbatical with his entire family. The accident unfortunately took the lives of the family members comprising of himself, his wife and two kids in the summer of 2007 may their soul rest in perfect peace.

    He banked with us here at Bank of America and had a very huge sum of money in his account which has still yet not been claimed by anybody as there was no living will in place when he died.

    “May their soul rest in perfect peace” and “A very huge sum of money” - instant alarm bells owing to the poor grammar. If you’re working under the pretence of being an educated individual employed by a tier 1 bank, you’re not doing a very good job.

    The amount of money involved here is about $15,812,664 (Fifteen Million, Eight Hundred and Twelve Thousand six hundred and sixty four US Dollars.) in account with indefinite interest.

    Holy s***, I’ve won the lottery !! Contain yourself man, and remember, its a fake ! Ok, composure resumed.

    Since the death of my client; my bank and I have made several inquiries to his embassy to locate any of his extended family members or relatives but this has proven unsuccessful. I came to know about you in my search for a person who shares the same last name as my late client.

    Yes - I and thousands of others no doubt. How lucky I’ve been selected for this “unique opportunity”.

    employed the services of LinkedIn search solely for this purpose as I feel it would not have been the last wishes of my late client for his whole life work to be transferred to a government (Es cheat) he had always complained of their unfavorable public monetary policies, taxes and so on while he was alive.

    Ok, so let me get this straight. You’ve trawled LinkedIn looking for “beneficiaries” when there are other far more orthodox and reliable channels to obtain this information. I can smell the sweat and toil of poorly conducted fraud here. Oh, and by the way, “Es cheat” is actually one word (ESCHEAT).

    My bank has issued me several notices to provide the next of kin or the account risk been es cheat within the next 10 official working days. The last notice for claim came to my desk last week. I am contacting you to assist me in repatriating the funds left behind before they are declared un-serviced by my bank. I am seeking your consent to present you as the next of kin of my late client since you share and bear the same last name.

    As such, the proceeds of the account can be paid to you as soon as you contact my bank and apply for the funds to be released to you as the next of kin. If we can be of one accord, I see no reason why we would not succeed. We both have to act swiftly on this matter in other to beat the deadline es cheat date.Please get back to me immediately for us to proceed.

    Wait a minute. If I’m the sole beneficiary, why do you want half ? Sounds like easy money to me. And the usage of “one accord” is somewhat “odd”.

    I am after the success of this transaction with your full co-operation. All I require is your honesty and full co-operation to enable us see this cool deal go through.

    I bet you are. “Cool deal” ? I thought I was taking to a professional here, not a school kid. Seems like our man has let his guard down for a split second and now his “Inna Gangsta” is shining through.

    I guarantee you that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you and me from breaching USA laws. I want to also inform you that I am a very religious person and I cannot tell a lie because of my strong believes; I would expect the same from you.

    Oh please, do me a favour. Pull the other one - its got bells on.

    I will attach a copy of my international passport in my next mail for authenticity so we have equal ground to trust each other. If you are interested in my proposal I will send you more information directing you on further procedure on how we can claim the money in the account successfully. If this proposal is alright by you then kindly get back to me.

    “Alright by you” - there’s that superb [sic] usage of business language again. This guy is awesome.

    The content of this mail should be treated with utmost confidentiality and a quick response from you will be highly appreciated. However, if you are not interested in this proposal, please accept my apologies for sending you the message and kindly delete message, I promised that you will never hear from me. I anticipate your co-operation.

    Of course. You wouldn’t want local law enforcement or the ”feds” knocking at your door now, would you ?

    Day 3

    This by now is so hilarious that I just had to respond.

    Hi. This sounds great. What would the next steps be ? Eagerly awaiting your response.

    And, without delay, here’s the response

    Dear Mark Cutting. I thank you for responding to my mail, I want to stress again that this transaction is very legitimate and there is no risk involved as I am the personal accountant to Late Engineer (Lex Cutting ) anything I say concerning this will be followed by the bank Executives.

    I bet. Actually, I’m struggling to follow your appallingly bad grammar here, but I expect you have your “very legitimate” reasons.

    However, before we can proceed further, I want you to assure me that you will be honest during the transaction and as soon as the funds is transferred to you we can meet in person and share money peacefully. You should understand that this transaction can be successful if we work together and as soon as I give you all legal procedure you will receive the funds from my bank, so I really need your assurance before we shall proceed.

    Wait - you want me to be honest ? Who’s scamming who here ?? What a complete scumbag.

    As I read your email I am very convinced with you and serious about this arrangement process as such, I would want you to take this serious too. My personal instinct directed me to contact you and I hope it was not a wrong thing to do.I shall direct you on the process of the claim; we shall start by sending a formal application to this effect. I will send you the text for the claims and transfer application to this effect. Thereafter, the bank will request of you the relevant back up documents to your claim and application according to the demand of our probate law for transfer of funds.

    Once you have provided the Bank with their demands, they would now be under legal obligation to transfer the funds to bank account provided by you. As part of the procedure of the claims, the documents that will be required from you will have to be acquired through legal procedures as the application of claim will be complimented with a legal award we shall have to seek from our law Court here. Be assured that the procedures to be adopted in effecting the transfer in your favor will be official and legal which will protect us from any breach of the law, We have the next 10 official working days.

    Right. Sounds fairly “straightforward”.

    Note: High confidentiality is required at all times. Do not tell anyone about this because, it might be unsafe for both of us. It would be safer for us to communicate by email for now as we have the trust. I hope you see reason with my decision on us talking by mail for now. As soon as the money has been transferred to your account, I will look for a country of our choice where we can see in person and subsequently share the funds in the ratio as discussed earlier.

    I can assure you it won’t be unsafe for me, but it probably is for you -“…now we have the trust”. Note, that the scammer gains confidence here, and starts making some fairly basic mistakes.

    Above all, I personally count on God to facilitate our plan and understanding, to produce not just success but also peaceful sharing of the funds at the end of the day and a wealthy family business relationship between us. I also pray for establishment of cordial relationship between us, God being our helper.

    I agree - you’re definitely going to need all the help you can get here. You’re not getting anything from me, so divine intervention is probably the only thing you have left.

    As soon as I hear from you and receive your assurance, I will send you the Text of Application for you to contact my bank for the release of the funds in the account of (Lex Nicholl) to your account as his next of kin.

    Hold it right there ! Who is Lex** “Nicholl”** ? Major alarm bells here. Looks like this guy has his wires crossed or didn’t get good morning injection of caffeine. This is a glaring oversight and I’m guessing all those lovingly created campaigns have a similar fault.

    would advice that you follow all the steps and procedures which I will give you so that we can get to the end of this transaction quickly. I need you to send a copy of your international passport to me and I will send mine as soon as I receive your reply indicating understanding from both of us.

    Of course. You need my passport. How undeniably stupid of me to think that you could complete this “transaction” without stealing the holy grail of personally identifiable documents in the process and using it like the gift that keeps giving for your other criminal campaigns (I sincerely hope they are better than this one).

    Day 4

    Time to turn up the heat a bit

    Hi. Can you send me the claims transfer forms for review ? Thanks

    This guy is like a dog on heat and he’s well and truly bitten this

    Dear Mark Cutting. I hope you and your family are well am so sorry for my late response as i read your email I was convinced, and I want you to understand that I need proper confirmation as I states below to be more in assurance of doing this transaction with you. The documents that will be required from us will have to be acquired through legal procedures as I explained, the application of claim will be complimented with a legal back up confirming this as a legitimate transaction, I have the account details with all access codes and will give it to you once it is required by the bank, also with me here all approvals will be provided and the transfer released to you.

    We are going to keep our communication on email for now to ensure that we are under absolute security due to high level call interception here in United States I would like you to see it with me that security is very necessary we have to be on email or text messages until the transaction is completed and I will visit you to implement our sharing.

    Yes, I agree that security is “very necessary” and also appreciate you do not want roughing up by “the feds” anytime soon. Let’s keep the communication on email so I don’t start to question who you are ? A quick side note here - if you want a secure channel, email is completely the opposite unless its been encrypted - which this hasn’t, and could be subject to eavesdropping. And, as a way of putting my mind at rest, here’s a lovely fake passport for your viewing pleasure. To the untrained eye, this could look convincing, but it a fake. One of the key identifiers here are the “wavy lines” over the picture. This is in fact a security watermark, and is unique for each passport issued. The lines will never repeat each other - if you look carefully at the below, the lines do in fact repeat.
    1614968131-783791-passport-fakepng.webp
    Below is an actual fake passport that was used in a scam a number of years ago. You’ll notice that this one is slightly less complex as it has the watermark missing, but is still fake, nonetheless.
    1614968502-542440-fake-passport-examplejpg.webp

    The transfer in your favor will be official and legal which will protect us from any breach of the law. Whatever the cost of his transaction will be, is going to be on both of us which I believe that you will not let me handle all the process alone.

    Of course not. You wouldn’t want to have to share any of the spoils, would you ? And just like any other “business transaction” you don’t want to be spending any of your money unnecessarily. Interesting that he’s actually used the US English “favor” rather than the UK English of “favour”. Pity he’s not been so diligent elsewhere. I know…let’s try and spend mine.

    I will give you the text application letter of the transfer request for our ledger department and also details on the way forward with the transaction once you have agreed with the following

    Are you ready to maintain the high level of confidentiality required for the successful conclusion of this transaction?

    Are you promising me that your account can be able to carry a transaction of such magnitude without any problem

    Are you willing to accept 50% for your participation without any problems in collecting my share from you?

    “Yes, yes, yes !” Let’s do this thing, and I’ll also throw in a portable radio to make the deal even more “appealing”.

    I will need your help in directing me and investing part of my share in your country the investment will be under your control until I am able to take over or it can be a joint venture depending on your decision. as soon as i receive a copy of your passport or id document and i as well have attached a copy of my passport for you to see whom you are working with.

    Please reply as soon as possible if you in understanding with me so that we can proceed with the bank with text application.

    Day 5

    Now this is getting interesting. What this really means is that once I have your bank details, I won’t be making a deposit - only a withdrawal (from my account, of course). Time to contact the Bank of America - this guy is an absolute riot (anagram of idiot) and yes, I can’t spell either, or count.

    Dear Sirs, I write with reference to what I believe to be a 419 Nigerian scam, sent to my email address. I am a security expert by trade, and wish to report this to yourselves. I believe the “sender” is impersonating one of your employees. I have also enclosed a scanned PDF file of the “passport”, which I also believe to be fake. I’m currently entertaining this individual as a way of reeling him in so I can report him to the necessary authorities.

    Clearly, I have no intention of supplying any sensitive information, including my passport. Whilst I expect that you receive many emails of this nature, I would like confirmation that the enclosed photo in the passport is not in fact a Bank of America employee

    Sadly, absolutely no response from Bank of America. I expect that they receive thousands of emails like this on a regular basis. Oh well, onward and upward. Let’s not keep our friend waiting.

    Hi Mark , Thank you for your email, and understanding, we do not have much time to complete this transaction to avoid reaching the es-cheat date.i will start the preparation of the application text which will be submitted to the bank as official application to cover the estate by the family member of Late Mr. Lex Cutting.

    I will send it to you for review by tomorrow. As a side note, there’s that misplaced capital letter

    Well now, that’s more like it ! Now we’re best friends forever, we can lower our guard a bit and revert to informal language (well, formal in the sense that our author is suffering from capital letter displacement). Perhaps we caused a bit of suspicion in our last messages and want to be a bit more convincing ? I’m game if you are buddy. Let’s make this a bit more interesting.

    Hi Andrew, Thanks for the email. I’ve just moved house, and things are in a bit of a mess, so I cannot place my passport for a few days until I’ve finished unpacking - hopefully, this doesn’t cause you any problems. I can answer “yes” to all the questions below.

    In the meantime, to speed up the process, is there any way we can proceed whilst I attempt to find my passport ?

    Thanks

    Well, look at me ! I know exactly where my passport is and I haven’t moved house - we need a bit of time here to do some further digging, so I’m throwing him off the scent for a few days whilst I perform some background investigation and analysis. I let this go on for 6 days before responding - note, that previously, “Andrew” had warned me we only had 10 days to nail this “cool deal”.

    We’ve since passed that landmark, but interestingly, he’s not that worried it seems. Admittedly, at this point I thought of sending a copy of Jason Bourne’s passport which are readily available for download via a quick Google - http://www.indyprops.com/pp-bournepass.htm. However, despite my assumption that this person I’m dealing with is stupid, I don’t think there’s many people on this planet who haven’t heard of Jason Bourne or seen at least one movie from the franchise.

    Based on this simple conclusion, its not a wise move in my view as it means ending the story here (unless this guy has been living under a rock)…. and there’s so much more to tell yet ! Therefore, we’ll need to take another route. Let’s increase the stakes. Note that by this point, we’re up to day 5, and we only had 10 days to complete this “cool deal”.

    Its now day 11 after I’ve kept him waiting for 6 days intentionally.

    Day 11

    Hi Andrew, Sorry for the delay. I finally found my passport, and have scanned a copy. However, I’ve read that email isn’t secure, so I can either FedEx a copy to you (I’ll need an address of course), or I can provide a secure link for you to download a password protected zip file. I’ll email you the password for that under separate cover. Would this be ok ? Keen to get things moving. Thanks

    I can almost hear the cogs in motion as my best friend formulates a response. A spanner in the works and probably not on his “canned response” sheet. This guy now needs to up his game to stay in the running.

    Hi mark. I hope you and your family are well? thank you so much for your mail please scan and send the copy of your international passport to this email (andrewwalter166@gmail.com) will can communicate much better even while i’m right in my work place i can reply over there anytime. as soon i receive your reply we will be proceeding with the text of application.

    I will be waiting to hear from you.

    Yes, I bet you will. This is the response I expected (note the “new” email address highlighted in yellow above - why change this now ? Keep reading) - if I then dropped out afterwards, this guy would still have a copy of my genuine passport, and could (and undoubtedly would) use this to commit other types of fraudulent activity.

    Essentially, its all about the money, so if the primary campaign fails, there is a good chance the second one will succeed, which is why the passport is requested so early to avoid over investment in terms of time.

    Hi Andrew, I really don’t want to send my passport by email. Can you give me an address of where it can be sent (postal) or let me know if you’d be ok downloading the copy needed from a link I will provide ? Thanks

    “Hang him on a hook and let me play with him”
    1614968549-147228-hhoahjpg.webp
    I’m so bad. Let’s see how much he wants this. Pushing for the postal address risks blowing the (supposedly carefully planned) cover and exposing him. He can’t exactly give me an address in Africa now, can he ? I’ve already preempted this and laid the foundations for a honeypot trap. I need to explain myself a bit here for those reading this and scratching their heads with images of Winnie the Pooh and a honey jar, so bear with me.

    A honeypot is a computer system or landing page that is set up to act as a decoy to lure fraudsters and cyber criminals - its essential function is to detect, deflect or study attempts to gain unauthorized access to information systems that are not for public use. At the heart of this honeypot is a system that is capable of obtaining a wealth of information about the accessing user in terms of IP address, geographic location, and a whole variety of data that would allow the recipient to piece together a trail of breadcrumbs. Any seasoned cyber criminal knows about the existence of such technology (its not exactly new) and would typically use a TOR browser to connect to any links provided by the victim in order to avoid detection.

    The TOR network is a complex array of secured computer systems acting as “nodes” that traverse the internet using a variety of encryption mechanisms and connection masking, allowing the user to hide behind a number of random proxies that make it look as though he or she is accessing from a completely different geographical location. The TOR network was originally intended for use by the US navy, but found its way out and became the favourite watering hole for many a cyber criminal - and today, known as either the deep web, or worse, the dark web. Ok, that’s enough history and boring technical terms. Let’s get back on track. Essentially, I’ve created a hidden honeypot on this site and the only two people who have this link are myself, and our scammer friend. The page cannot be indexed or crawled by Google either. Time to up the stakes

    Hi Andrew, Any update to this please ? Thanks

    Day 12

    No response. Perhaps I’ve pushed this a little too far. Let’s see

    Hi Andrew, I’m concerned that I haven’t heard from you and don’t want to miss out on this amazing opportunity. Can you let me know what we need to do next please ? Thanks

    I honestly thought that he wouldn’t reply, but he did.

    Dear Mark Cutting. Hope all is fine with you and the family? i am writing to know if you are still interested with this transaction i need a copy of your international passport in other to know whom i’m working with for more verification as soon you send it down here

    Now, when I went to school, the UK was across from America and not down - hence the term “across the pond”. Did I miss something here ? A figure of speech perhaps, but more likely a slip of the tongue. Looking at a map “down here” would indicate south, surely ?

    we will be proceeding with the text of application to contact my bank for funds relic please update me as soon as possible.

    And here we have another schoolboy error. This guy thinks he can relax now he’s done his chore. Not only is the text clearly copied and pasted (with the formatting intact so he first line doesn’t match the rest in terms of font size), but much worse is the fact that he’s now using a different email address altogether and hasn’t even made any attempts to hide this. Clearly, he’s got a lot going on, and there are undoubtedly hundreds of “Andrew Walter” doppelgangers lurking in the shadows like something out of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”.

    To understand this complete failure, let’s take a closer look - perhaps he’s got some sort of “Salesforce(esque)” campaign on the go where willing participants are directed to another email address for easy reference (milking)! The email address we started with was “andrewwalter411@gmail.com” which in itself isn’t very convincing. Now we’ve suddenly switched to “andrewwalter166@gmail.com” and also lazy again with our grammar as “Andrew Walter” is now “andrew walter”.
    1614968634-496024-emails.webp
    I suppose I could send him a Starbucks voucher so he can get a strong coffee and wake up, but, this is his gig, so I’ll let him play his hand.

    Hi Andrew, As I previously mentioned, I won’t send my passport via email because I was told it wasn’t secure. Instead, I’ll provide a link to a secure website where it can be downloaded as a zip file. I’ll also provide the password for the zip file so you can extract it. I’ll get this over to you today. Thanks

    Now we’re “upping the ante” a bit. Not only do we respond to the original email, but also to the new one with the same message above. I’m relatively sure at this point that our friend isn’t exactly an experienced fraudster, and probably won’t even notice his own mistake. Wait for a bit……. then send the link. Note that the link itself has been redacted for obvious reasons and is not the original.

    Dear Andrew, I’ve scanned a copy of my passport to PDF and placed it in a password protected ZIP file. It can be downloaded using the link below. https://[redacted]/KCXXu4MN8G6FZqFt4Mb7hQfRZXmHA3Fn/securedownload/ Let me know as soon as you’ve downloaded the ZIP file, and I’ll send you the password in a separate email. Thanks

    I wasn’t really expecting this guy to bite if I’m being honest, but never say die - he’s just fallen straight into the honeypot (or should I say, “boiling pot”)

    Hi, the link is infected i can not open it my system refused to run the link. send it via pdf which i can view before download or jpg.

    Actually “Andrew”, the link **isn’t **infected. I understand your frustration though, as its very annoying having your time wasted by a moronic idiot who seems to lack the ability to string even basic sentences together…… Alright - that’s enough of that. The thing is “Andrew”, you didn’t follow my instructions. Not that this really matters at the moment anyway as I have got what I came for. The string on the carrot has just been made shorter. I know at this point, you can almost taste it, but I’m not finished with you just yet.

    Hi Andrew, The link works fine on my PC. its a password protected ZIP file created by 7Zip. If you use this to extract, you’ll need to enter the password to extract the PDF which I’ll send you under separate cover. Regds

    He’s in for a bit of a surprise when he gets around to opening that Zip file. There’s a PDF there all right, but it’s certainly not my passport. In fact, “Andrew” has had three attempts at downloading that file
    1614968689-559410-file-downloadpng.webp
    According to the honeypot, it would appear that he’s operating out of Randburg (Johannesburg, South Africa) - a very well known fraud hotspot.
    1614968849-529265-locationpng.webp
    The GEO information is provided courtesy of https://db-ip.com/41.113.125.214

    If those coordinates are accurate, then the local law enforcement aren’t too far away. Have a look below
    1614968903-340115-policepng.webp
    In fact, about 12 miles away (dependant on exact location of course, which the local ISP can provide when requested by law enforcement agencies)
    1614969237-763652-directions1.webp

    Day 13

    The next steps here are quite obvious. Pass it onto the local authorities to investigate, with a copy of all material received thus far

    Dear Sirs, I write with reference to an incident where a scammer in your location has trawled LinkedIn and obtained my address with a view to commit coercion and fraudulent activity. The IP address that this fraud attempt has originated from is https://db-ip.com/41.113.125.214. I have a complete record of all activity, plus a copy of what I believe to be a stolen passport.

    I am a security professional by trade, and wish to report this as criminal activity. I have a complete evidence chain of emails relating to this particular event - the incumbent has requested a copy of my passport (which for obvious reasons I will not be providing), and no doubt will also attempt to acquire my bank details. This person is posing as “Andrew Walter” from Bank of America - there are several fake profiles on LinkedIn relating to this individual. I am also aware that local law enforcement can request the physically connected location for this address - you should find its about 12 miles away from your location.

    I have obtained this fraudster’s IP address via a honeypot on my website, which I purposely setup to extract this information. I would appreciate your cooperation in this individual’s apprehension, as it would appear that the same person is responsible for a number of similar campaigns designed to extract funds from others. I am based in the UK, but can be free to discuss as you deem fit. I have enclosed copies of all emails received so far, plus an example of the LinkedIn profiles which I believe are fake. Mark Cutting

    And the below read receipt shows that this email has been read (well, opened, at least)

    Your message was read on 16 May 2018 10:32:48 AM UTC. Final-recipient: RFC822; T0023694@saps.gov.za Disposition: automatic-action/MDN-sent-automatically; displayed X-MSExch-Correlation-Key: c1tMJuEijE6r4WJRtMhQlw== X-Display-Name: GPS:Randburg SC Admin

    its at this point where things become much clearer. This guy really hasn’t done his homework. He’s been conversing with me outside of US time zones (well, Johannesburg is only currently 1 hour ahead of the UK after all) which can only mean he either has severe insomnia, or isn’t actually based in the USA. I wonder which one it could be ? Perhaps he should see a doctor and get some pills for that…. 🙂 I’ve since sent “Andrew” another email, but unfortunately, he hasn’t replied. I guess he’s “busy” with his next victim.

    Hi Andrew,

    I’m a bit concerned I’ve not heard from you, and with the deadline approaching, I really do not want to miss out. Can you let me know if you were able to open the zip file with 7zip as I previously mentioned ?

    When you try to extract it, you’ll need a password which I’ll provide to you once you confirm you’re able to open.

    Please keep me updated.

    Thanks

    The ironic thing here is that “Andrew” in fact already has the password for that zip file I sent him ! If he’s the hotshot he makes out to be, then I’m sure he’ll work it out. In the meantime, I’m guessing you all want to know what that zip file contained ? Well, I did say it was a PDF, but its not my passport. Here you go.
    1614969001-333126-pdf1png.webp

    Conclusion

    Sadly, there’s been no response to the email I sent to SAPS (South African Police Services). Oh well. They have all the evidence they need, although in fact, no actual “fraud” has been committed. That effectively means that “scoping out” a potential victim and attempting to reel them in isn’t actually an offence. Although identity impersonation certainly is and I’d be surprised if they were not interested in this.

    So there you have it - a walk-through of what to look for in these types of scam. Here’s the highlights

    No official institution like the Bank of America is going to allow its employees to conduct business over a GMAIL account. In all honesty, faking the bankofamerica.com domain would have been much more convincing, and wouldn’t have taken much effort either. After a quick iteration of the real name, I found the below If an email supposedly comes from the US, then why are all emails being sent outside of their working hours ? Any transaction of this sort would never be conducted over email anyway - for this amount (if this were indeed real), it would have to be completed face-to-face in the presence of bank officials, lawyers, compliance, and a whole raft of others. No institution is going to request a copy of any identifiable details (passport, bank accounts, etc.) over email. Poor grammar is an immediate warning sign. You need at least a decent grade in English if you are going to pretend to be someone you’re not Bad spelling is another. There are so many errors here and it makes any campaign stand up and shout “hey, I’m fake !”

    Hope you enjoyed this somewhat absurd journey.

    Keep safe out there, folks.