How Did Goldman make $10 B in trading profits in three months? This fellow addresses the question, this is what I have been suspecting, it must be true.
Enron is perhaps the landmark ethics case of our time. Now the Supreme Court will hear an appeal by Skilling attorneys that he did not get a fair trial. My take, if John Fuld who took $300 M out of Lehman the year before its collapse along with the cheats at Bear Stearns and Merrill, FNM and FRE are not in jail, I say let Skillng go, who knows we could use some creative finance guys these days....
Wendi Taber spoke last night in my Grad Accounting Class. she sends this warning from Information Week about requests from your social networking friends.
Beware Hijacked Social Networking Accounts, FBI Warns
Social networking sites are becoming a more popular attack vector for cybercriminals because people trust those they believe to be friends.
Think twice before wiring money to help a Facebook friend who claims to be in trouble in a foreign country.
Marking the commencement of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Thursday warned that there's been an increase in hijacked social networking accounts and that cybercriminals are using these accounts to defraud victims' friends.
Since 2006, there have been 3,200 reports of account hijackings, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
"When opened, the spam allows the cyber intruders to steal passwords for any account on the computer, including social networking sites," the FBI said. "The thieves then change the user's passwords and eventually send out distress messages claiming they are in some sort of legal or medical peril and requesting money from their social networking contacts."
Facebook's security blog includes a transcript posted in August of a chat conversation in which this very scam is played out.
"Pretending to be Derek's friend Jill, the scammer tells Derek that she was mugged at gunpoint in London, and that she needs him to wire her $890 immediately," Facebook explains. "Derek becomes more and more suspicious as the conversation progresses and ultimately realizes that the person he's talking to isn't his friend, and that the story he's being told is a lie."
Another common scam, the FBI said, involves phishing spam that presents a fake notice about some issue requiring attention, such as a terms of service violation, account expiration, or unexplained account activity. Messages of this sort often seek to prompt recipients to click on a link that leads to a malicious site and to provide personal information or account details.
The reason that cybercriminals seek to abuse social networking accounts is that messages from friends have an appearance of legitimacy.
As if to underscore the FBI's concern, Roger Thompson, chief of research at AVG Technologies, reported in a blog post on Thursday that his company had detected a series of identical Facebook profiles, differentiated only by profile names, set up to distribute fake anti-virus software through a link purporting to be a home video.
The FBI advises: that users check their privacy settings on social sites to make sure they're not exposing too much information; being selective about friends on social sites; disabling unused sharing options; being careful about links posted to social sites; and reviewing the security settings and procedures at social sites.
Wendi Taber spoke last night in my Grad Accounting Class. she sends this warning from Information Week about requests from your social networking friends.
Beware Hijacked Social Networking Accounts, FBI Warns
Social networking sites are becoming a more popular attack vector for cybercriminals because people trust those they believe to be friends.
Think twice before wiring money to help a Facebook friend who claims to be in trouble in a foreign country.
Marking the commencement of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Thursday warned that there's been an increase in hijacked social networking accounts and that cybercriminals are using these accounts to defraud victims' friends.
Since 2006, there have been 3,200 reports of account hijackings, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
"When opened, the spam allows the cyber intruders to steal passwords for any account on the computer, including social networking sites," the FBI said. "The thieves then change the user's passwords and eventually send out distress messages claiming they are in some sort of legal or medical peril and requesting money from their social networking contacts."
Facebook's security blog includes a transcript posted in August of a chat conversation in which this very scam is played out.
"Pretending to be Derek's friend Jill, the scammer tells Derek that she was mugged at gunpoint in London, and that she needs him to wire her $890 immediately," Facebook explains. "Derek becomes more and more suspicious as the conversation progresses and ultimately realizes that the person he's talking to isn't his friend, and that the story he's being told is a lie."
Another common scam, the FBI said, involves phishing spam that presents a fake notice about some issue requiring attention, such as a terms of service violation, account expiration, or unexplained account activity. Messages of this sort often seek to prompt recipients to click on a link that leads to a malicious site and to provide personal information or account details.
The reason that cybercriminals seek to abuse social networking accounts is that messages from friends have an appearance of legitimacy.
As if to underscore the FBI's concern, Roger Thompson, chief of research at AVG Technologies, reported in a blog post on Thursday that his company had detected a series of identical Facebook profiles, differentiated only by profile names, set up to distribute fake anti-virus software through a link purporting to be a home video.
The FBI advises: that users check their privacy settings on social sites to make sure they're not exposing too much information; being selective about friends on social sites; disabling unused sharing options; being careful about links posted to social sites; and reviewing the security settings and procedures at social sites.
Community College officials face serious charges for misuse of funds and channeling money for various bond elections.
It never ceases to amaze me. Whenever I teach ethics three times now, there is no lack of current ethically challenged officials making the news. One never needs to save articles so that there is material to demonstrate the problem to students.
Of course the lawyers for the officials are denying anything was done incorrectly. But the DA brought the case, and this is after all California where it seems to take quite a bit to break the law when it comes to government spending.
If Mark Sanford had cheated on his taxes instead of his wife, he would have been a cabinet member by now.
Hmm, I teach the ethics class here at A & M, we have seen several cabinet members get a pass on their views of responsibility vis a vis the IRS code, including the now chief enforcer Secy of Treasury Geithner
So, in the wake of both infidelities of numerous politicos on both sides of the aisle, remember Elliot Spitzer?, is this just a private matter, remember the defense of Bill Clinton, that we should ignore?
Maybe you missed this one on Republican John Ensign just last week, frankly there are too many of these to catalog lately, okay I mentioned two Dems and two Republicans, fair and balanced....
Hollywood types change mates as though they are just another wardrobe accessory, and no one seems to think any less of them. Jen and Brad are history. Clint Eastwood has seven children by four different women. If it is okay on the left coast, is it okay on the right coast, different scene, different theater. But both involve actors vying for your vote at the box or Congressional office near you.
Does tax infidelity equal marital infidelity, does tax infidelity matter more in the case of being a role model at the cabinet level? Does one trump the other? Does it matter which theater (marrriage, taxes) we are in? Should your behavior matter in your appointment? Some cabinet wanabes lost out over nanny care social security filings, they did not pay the social security matching, but lately that does not seem to matter...... Do you care? Should we care? These guys and gals I think take an oath to uphold uh er ah, well maybe not.....
In ethics class I handed out an article detailing how the chair of the New York FED and former Goldman CEO had made over $2,7 M buying Goldman, now a bank, shares while the government was indeed trying to save his former firm. He has now resigned, my post from the investment blog as follows.
Just last evening Saturday Night Live was lampooning the Stress Test of US Banks. The fact taht mood could change so quickly from panic in October November to hilarity in May shows just how emotional market mind sets can be. Certainly the situation has had its hilarious moments among them
Tsy Secretary nominee to be in charge of the IRS has not paid his own employment taxes
Numerous, and we emphasis numerous, other nominees are in the same boat, where is Joe Biden to remark that paying taxes is patriotic
Both parties blaming each other for the sub prime mortgage crisis
Jeff Skilling of Enron fame sits in jail while Franklin Raines who made $160 M at Fannnie Mae prior to its meltdown is as free as is Fuld who made $300 M at Lehman, where is the justice, Skilling no doubt wants to know!
Did you know that NY Fed Chairman Stephen Friedman, former Goldman CEO, observing the efforts to save the banking system managed to purchase enough Goldman shares to now have a $3 M paper profit on one of our newest 'banks?' He is now stepping down to be replaced at the FED by, are you ready, an AFL CIO exec, an organization famous for its private sector vigilance...but as Stephen says, he saw nothing wrong with what he did and was going to step down anyway, did we mention he was a Bush adviser....
The 41 year old CFO of Freddie MAC FRE apparently committed suicide at his home early in the AM.
While he was not the subject of any investigation no doubt he was under pressure as FRE lost billions in the mortgage market.
Indeed this is a tragedy, we will see more like it. Interestingly of course the real culprits like Bernie Madoff or Ken Lay never hold themselves accountable and as Gordon Liddy might say, do the right thing.
As I have said numerous times here, the socidal mood is turning down.
