Online impersonation in securities scams
M.F. Vilardo · IEEE Security & Privacy · 2004
For a con man to convince a target to part with his or her money, he first must gain the target's trust. In cyberspace, securities scammers gain the trust of unwitting investors through a variety of means. Perhaps the most insidious of these involves a form of online impersonation in which the perpetrator uses the Internet's technical capabilities to create bogus online content that mimics information from trusted sources. The author briefly explores the use of various impersonation techniques by persons charged in US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement actions alleging market manipulation and fraud.