Technology News - The Art of the Prank

October 8, 2013December 15, 2023

Fake Facts for Free

From Wil:

Fake research paper accepted into hundreds of online journals
by Lindsay Abrams
Salon.com
October 4, 2013

A “sting” operation found that open-access journals will accept anything — for a price

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The dream of open access to scientific knowledge has come up hard against the truism that you can”™t trust everything you read on the Internet.

A fabricated “” and highly flawed “” research paper sent to 304 online journals by John Bohannon, a science journalist at Harvard, was accepted for publication by more than half of them. The paper, about a new cancer drug, included nonsensical graphs and an utter disregard for the scientific method. In addition, it was written by fake authors, from a fake university in Africa and, as a final flourish, had been changed through Google Translate into French and back to English. Collaborators at Harvard helped him make it convincingly boring. Continue reading “Fake Facts for Free”

November 21, 2011December 15, 2023

Fake Branding Courtesy of Google+

Fake Google+ Profile Looks Bad For Bank Of America, But Worse For Google
Huffington Post
November 16, 2011

A Google+ account titled “Bank of America“ posted a series of updates last week mocking homeowners who couldn”™t pay their mortgages.

“Big company party in foreclosed house #2340087 tonight!” read one post.

Another warned Occupy Wall street protesters, “You will sit down and shut up, or we will foreclose on you.”

The Google+ profile featured a Bank of America logo, a link to the bank”™s website, and the address and phone number of its New York headquarters. And though it boasted the same name as Bank of America”™s official page — it was a fake.

Bank of America is one of several high-profile brands, including Disney, that have had their identities usurped on Google+ by users impersonating the companies. Continue reading “Fake Branding Courtesy of Google+”

September 12, 2011December 15, 2023

Anonymous Activism Targeted as Threat to National Security

Anonymous Hackers Targeted By FBI, Homeland Security For Potential National Security Threat
by Paul Elias
Huffington Post
September 11, 2011

San Francisco “” Anonymous is not so anonymous anymore.

The computer hackers, chat room denizens and young people who comprise the loosely affiliated Internet collective have increasingly turned to questionable tactics, drawing the attention of the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal investigators.

What was once a small group of pranksters has become a potential national security threat, federal officials say.

The FBI has carried out more than 75 raids and arrested 16 people this year in connection with illegal hacking jobs claimed by Anonymous.

Since June, the Department of Homeland Security has issued three “bulletins” warning cyber-security professionals of hacking successes and future threats by Anonymous and related groups, including a call to physically occupy Manhattan’s Wall Street on Sept. 17 in protest of various U.S. government policies. Continue reading “Anonymous Activism Targeted as Threat to National Security”

July 22, 2011December 15, 2023

Chinese Take-Out? Make That Fake-Out

Update, 7/22/11: China’s Fake Apple Store Sparks Customer Ire; Staff Remains Defiant

Submitted by W.J. Elvin III: Love it that maybe the employees don’t even know they’re not working for Apple…

China’s Fake Apple Stores Mimic Real Thing–Down To Product Displays
by Steven Hoffer
The Huffington Post
July 20, 2011

The following is perhaps the greatest Chinese knock-off of all time.

A blogger living the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming, in Yunnan province has discovered bit-for-bit rip-offs of the iconic and well-branded Apple retail stores.

The BirdAbroad blog describes a store housing display cases filled with what appear to be Apple products, that unmistakable Apple Store design, “classic Apple store winding staircase” and even Apple “employees” wearing blue t-shirts ready to assist customers with all of their Apple troubleshooting needs.

But, of course, there’s more to this store than meets the eye. Bird writes, “this was a total Apple store ripoff. A beautiful ripoff – a brilliant one – the best ripoff store we had ever seen (and we see them every day). Continue reading “Chinese Take-Out? Make That Fake-Out”

January 26, 2011December 15, 2023

Facebook Scam Preys on User’s Vanity

‘My Total Facebook Views’ Scam Spreads On Facebook
by Bianca Bosker
The Huffington Post
January 21, 2011

A new scam that appeals to both our egos and instinct for voyeurism is spreading like wildfire on Facebook.

An app going by various names, including ProfileSpy and Pro Check, claims it will offer insight into how many people have viewed your Facebook profile if you fill out a short survey and grant the app permission to access your information.

The scam has been making its way around the social network via status updates, which include a link to the suspicious service and text that reads, “My total facebook views are: 1245 Find out your total profile views.”

From the flurry of status updates that are appearing on Facebook, it appears many are falling for the phony service.

Don’t be one of them: Not only will completing the survey fail to shed light on the number of views your profile has actually received, but doing so will reward the scammer, who is likely to earn a commission, and, as All Facebook notes, “the whole exercise exposes your profile to malware and shares your personal information with an entity that will send you more spam in the near future.”