scheme

Given the influx of phishing scams on the web these days, it seems identity theft is on just about everyone's mind. That's why the story of runaway suspect Alicia O'Hara seems particularly interesting, given that her pursuit has now moved through ... three international locales. A warrant for O'Hara charges her with an organized scheme to defraud, and was issued last week. According to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office of Florida, O'Hara is strongly linked to an identity-theft scam that had elements in the United States, England and Canada. What was the crime? Authorities want to speak with O' ... (view more)

Facebook users and privacy groups have criticised a new advertising scheme from the social networking site. Designed to net Facebook more ad dollars, the program plays Big Brother with the site's loyal (and growing) membership. The 'Beacon' system ... is a partnership between Facebook and 44 other sites. Whenever a user visits one of these sites while logged in to Facebook, their activities are monitored. Certain events are then automatically posted on their Facebook news feed which can be seen by all of their online friends. The events which are reported include online purchases, movie rentals, ... (view more)

An ambitious scheme could see Russian spy planes provide broadband Internet services. The scheme would use Myasishchev M-55 planes to plug gaps in Russia's patchy satellite coverage. They would also be used in areas where the telecoms system has ... been damaged or destroyed. Because the planes are designed to fly at high altitude, they can provide coverage to a much wider ground area. The planes, which are equivalent to the American U-2s, were originally designed to intercept US spy balloons. They've since been transferred to scientific uses such as studying the arctic stratosphere. An existing ... (view more)