Man Charged After Hacking Hollywood Celebrities Email Accounts

A Florida man was charged with hacking into the emails of dozens of people, including Christina Aguilera, Scarlett Johansson and Mila Kunis, in a computer invasion scheme that targeted Hollywood celebrities, according to documents released Wednesday.


A man has been arrested following an FBI investigation into a Hollywood hacking ring which stole naked photographs from the phones and email accounts of celebrities.
The man has been charged with hacking into celebrity email accounts in a scheme that led to the posting of private information, including nude photos of American actress Scarlett Johansson, on the internet.


It was the first arrest in a year long probe called Operation Hackerazzi, which has sought to identify those obtaining private images from electronic devices belonging to female stars.


Christopher Chaney of Jacksonville hacked Google, Apple and Yahoo email accounts beginning last November and December, then hijacked the forwarding feature so that a copy of every email received was sent, "virtually instantaneously" to an email account he controlled, according to an indictment handed up Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles.


There were more than 50 victims in the case, including Mila Kunis, Christina Aguilera and actress Renee Olstead, authorities said. Others were named only by initials and investigators wouldn't disclose if they were famous, but said victims named in the indictment agreed to have their identities made public.

Chaney offered some material, including photographs, to celebrity blog sites and some of the files and photographs ultimately were posted, according to an FBI statement.


Chaney allegedly used the hacker names "trainreqsuckswhat", "anonygrrl" and "jaxjaguars911". He is charged with 26 counts of identity theft, unauthorized access and unauthorized damage to a protected computer.


Chaney made his initial court appearance in a Florida courtroom Wednesday and was released on $10,000 bond. He was charged with 26 counts of identity theft, unauthorized access to a protected computer and wiretapping. If convicted, he faces up to 121 years in prison.


Authorities said Chaney was responsible for stealing nude photos taken by Johansson herself and were later posted on the internet.


Last month nude images of the actress Scarlett Johansson appeared on the internet after reportedly being taken from her mobile phone by hackers.


High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens has also reportedly spoken to the FBI about compromising images being stolen her email accounts.


Mila Kunis, Selena Gomez, Jessica Alba, Miley Cyrus and Christina Aguilera were also among the celebrities believed to have been targeted by a hacker in recent months.

Scarlett Johansson, Miley Cyrus, Christina Aguilera, Vanessa Hudgens
- famous victims of the hacker

Speaking after having her private photographs stolen by hackers last month, Miss Johansson said: "Just because you're in the spotlight, or just because you're an actor or making films or whatever, doesn't mean that you're not entitled to your own personal privacy."


A federal grand jury claims that, beginning late last year, Chaney gained unauthorised access to the email accounts of more than 50 people - but the indictment only listed 11 specific incidents.


The suspect was arrested in Florida and is believed to have distributed any images obtained from the hacking to websites for free.
He allegedly offered some of the hacked material, including photographs, to websites and some of it was said to have been posted.


The "cyber intrusions" may have targeted devices including desktop computers, laptops, iPads, mobile phones and personal online accounts.


Authorities wouldn't say whether Chaney was able to access email accounts via mobile phones, but he was able to figure out secure passwords to various celebrity accounts through information that had been made public.


Chaney "mined through publicly available data and figured out passwords and security questions".


Investigators said they hoped the celebrity-infused case will jumpstart those who don't value online security enough to protect their personal information and create more secure passwords that can't be easily figured out by would-be hackers.


Celebrities and people in the news have long been targets of privacy invasion but concerns have redoubled in the internet age.


In Britain, publisher Rupert Murdoch closed down the News of the World this year after contentions that the tabloid routinely hacked into people's phones in the hunt for exclusive stories.


The paper, which had published for 168 years, faced allegations of systematically intercepting private voicemail of those in the news - including a teenage murder victim.

ATMs Security. How to Avoid Stealing Your Account Data or Money

ATM

ATM bank cash machines have been incorporated in our way of life. They offer a real convenience to those on the run, but at the same time offer an element of risk. Using a bank ATM machine safely requires awareness and a little planning. Just because a bank ATM machine is open and available 24-hours a day doesn't mean it is always safe to use it.


ATMs keep your personal identification number (PIN) and other information safe by using encryption software such as Triple DES (Data Encryption Standard). But there are lots of things that you can do to protect your information and your money at an ATM.


The more I get to know about ATM hackers, the less I want to use ATMs. Especially stan-alone ATMs.


Do you really want to know why? Just open some of the biggest websites for selling products (from example - eBay) and type in "ATM".
You will be amazed. Availability varies, but often you can find machines for sale that cost just a few hundred bucks.


Bad guys can buy these, get a computer programmer to rewrite the code and set them up just about anywhere to collect people's card information and PINs. Sometimes the machines actually dispense some cash, but often they're set up just to display an error message - after stealing your data.


Crooks can put skimmers over the card readers to suck up your data and record your PIN with miniature cameras. Some bad guys don't bother with the ATMs at all, instead putting the skimmer on the key card lock of the door that leads into an ATM.
But security procedures and video surveillance at banks usually mean these skimmers are detected fairly quickly. 

Here are some tips that can make your ATM transaction safer:


- Don't write down your PIN. If you must write it down, do not store it in your wallet or purse.


- Make your PIN a series of letters or numbers that you can easily remember, but that cannot easily be associated with you personally.


- Avoid using birth dates, initials, house numbers or your phone number.


- Store your ATM card in your purse or wallet, in an area where it won't get scratched or bent.


- Get your card out BEFORE you approach the ATM. You'll be more vulnerable to attack if you're standing in front of the ATM, fumbling through your wallet for your card.


- Stand directly in front of the ATM keypad when typing in your PIN. This prevents anyone waiting to use the machine from seeing your personal information.


- After your transaction, take your receipt, card and money away. Do not stand in front of the machine and count your money.


- If you are using a drive-up ATM, get your vehicle as close to the machine as possible to prevent anyone from coming up to your window. Also make sure that your doors are locked before you drive up to the machine.


- Do not leave your car running while using a walk-up ATM. Take your keys with you and lock the doors before your transaction.


- If someone or something makes you uncomfortable, cancel your transaction and leave the machine immediately. Follow up with your bank to make sure the transaction was cancelled and alert the bank to any suspicious people.


- Be suspicious of any stand-alone ATM. Yes, there are plenty of legitimate ones, but it can be tough for a layperson to tell which ones feed information to thieves rather than cash to you. You'll definitely want to avoid any ATM that isn't bolted to the side of a building or secured inside a facility. Real ATMs are heavy and have money safes, so they're not going to be easy to move. Also beware of stand-alone ATMs that advertise "no fees", since legitimate owners of stand-alone ATMs have to charge fees to make money.


- Avoid bank ATMs if the access door is broken. If you normally have to use your ATM card to unlock a door to get to the ATM and the lock is broken or the door is propped open, don't go in. Someone could have forced open the door to install a skimmer.


- Beware of "out of service" signs. If there are two ATMs and one has an "out of service" sign, it could be legit - or it could be trying to get you to use the other ATM, which has been compromised.


- Give the card slot a good yank. Put your hand on the slot where your card goes in and give it a push. A real one won't give way, while a skimmer often does. If the card slot looks strange at all, find another ATM.


- Report "malfunctions" immediately. If you get an error message instead of money, contact your bank right away. You're at much greater risk of fraud.


- Monitor your transaction activity. It doesn't matter how busy you are. You can still take a few minutes every week to log on to your accounts and look over your transactions. You'll want to report bogus transactions right away, since your liability for fraud is waived only if you spot the problems within a couple of months.




Yeah, pretty long list. But following the steps above, can protect yourself from stealing your bank account data or money.

For safety reasons, ATM users should seek out a machine that is located in a well-lighted public place. Federal law requires that only the last four digits of the cardholder's account number be printed on the transaction receipt so that when a receipt is left at the machine location, the account number is secure. However, the entry of your four-digit personal identification number (PIN) on the keypad should still be obscured from observation, which can be done by positioning your hand and body in such a way that the PIN entry cannot be recorded by store cameras or store employees. The cardholder's PIN is not recorded in the journal, but the account number is. If you protect your PIN, you protect your account.


Most bank ATM robberies occur at night between 7pm and midnight when the machine only produces 10% of the daily transactions. Between 7pm and 4am, the ATMs handle only 11% of the total daily transactions but suffer 60% of the crime.


Bank ATM robbers are usually males under 25 years of age and most work alone. ATM robbers usually position themselves nearby (50 feet) waiting for a victim to approach and withdraw cash. Half of the ATM robberies occur after the cash withdrawal. Many ATM robbery victims are women and were alone when robbed. Most claim that they never saw the robber coming. Most ATM robbers used a gun or claimed to have a concealed weapon when confronting the victim and demanding their cash.


Remember - always use safe places when taking cash from ATM. Taking money from bank ATM is the safest.
Avoid stand-alone ATMs. Avoid ATMs showing error messages.