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Key government websites figure in frauds |
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 By A.M. Costa Rica
staff
Investigators report that the new electronic invoice system has been attacked by hackers along with two more important government data bases. The Judicial Investigating Organization said that crooks managed to access user accounts by installing programs on the computers of victims. Electronic invoicing or facturas electrónicas, as they are called in Spanish, is a new system set up by the Ministerio de Hacienda to log sales all over the country. The stated reason is to prevent tax fraud. Judicial investigators said that the Registro PYME and the Sistema Integrado de Compras Públicas also had been breached. PYME is a Spanish acronym that translates into English as small and medium enterprises. Many businesses are enrolled in this program because to do so provides an advantage, mainly when doing business with the government. The Sistema Integrado is the purchasing system for most government agencies. Each of the web-based programs requires a user name and a password. The judicial statement Monday did not say exactly how users had been victimized, but the agency promised more details today. The Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio operates the small-business program. Investigators said that they discovered a series of frauds being operated when crooks tricked computer users and installed hidden programs on computers to steal user data. |
 A.M. Costa Rica wire services photo The judicial statement Monday did not say exactly how users had been victimized, but the agency promised more details today. The announcement suggests that crooks were using the phishing technique to obtain user names and passwords. Investigators said that the government agencies involved were uniting to call the public's attention to the crimes so computer users would not fall victim to the frauds. ---- Should the Ministry of Finance suspend the electronic invoice system until it can be safer for users? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com |
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