FBI Uses Facebook To Help Foil Yahos Botnet: Losses of $850 Million Attributed To The Gang

[engine]

I'm intruiged that a criminal might use FB. Surely, it's better to remain off-the-grid. Not that i'm an expert, of course, but it seems so obvious.

An alleged cybercrime ring said to be responsible for losses of $850m looks to have been foiled by the FBI - by using Facebook.

In a statement, the US authority said 10 suspects had been arrested globally, including from the UK and US.

Facebook users were targeted over two years beginning in October 2010.

A gang was said to be using a botnet to steal credit card, bank account and other personal identifiable information from victims.

FBI Uses Facebook To Help Foil Yahos Botnet: Losses of $850 Million Attributed To The Gang [bbc.co.uk]

[Leosghost]

I'm intruiged that a criminal might use FB. Surely, it's better to remain off-the-grid. Not that i'm an expert, of course, but it seems so obvious.

You would be amazed ( and perhaps horrified ) at the number of software cracker groups, hacker groups and cyber locker and warez sites that have fan pages on facebook..and many thousands and tens of thousands ( and in some cases hundreds of thousands ) of likes..

[brotherhood of LAN]

Social account details no doubt help for some of their social engineering tactics in getting people infected.

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

Some hackers are definitely in your face about what they do, good riddance.

[lexipixel]

Why is this being reported like Facebook did something good? If I read it right: Facebook users were ripped off for $850M, ongoing for 2 years and Facebook couldn't stop it (or were unaware it was happening).

Facebook's security team assisted the FBI after "Yahos" targeted its users from 2010 to October 2012, the U.S. federal agency said in a statement on its website.

[nbcnews.com...]

[Whitey]

Why is this being reported like Facebook did something good?

FB PR machine might be involved