Artists Against 419
I was recently pointed to the Artists Against 419 website, and it seemed like a worthy cause. The Artists are a grassroots anti-fraud group, but rather than being another victim support site, they actively target fake banks and other fraudulent websites used in scams.
The Artists seem to have an impressive history, starting small, and now growing to be the webs premier directory of fake and fraudulent banks. They provide data to Firetrusts Sitehound software, and are a full member of the Anti Phishing Working Group.
The Website is wiki-based with a distinctive green/Black theme. It is a fluid width with left navigation. It looks to get regular updates and has a strong community feel about it.
Two particular strings fit the Artists bow. The first is their Fake Bank Database where they list every site identified by themselves as fake. Currently the database has 8854 sites listed, although the majority of them are now dead.
The second is their active forum, where a thriving community of long term figures, and new members work together. The older members passing on tips and tricks to the newer members. The spirit of camaraderie is boosted by the occasional Flashmobs held by the Artists to target long term problem sites, where a party atmosphere fills the forum, a chat room is opened and the Artists play tunes over an internet radio station.
There is a darker side to the Artists that some puritans may argue. In the case of websites that their usual notifications cannot close down, such as those hosted on “bombproof” Chinese servers, the artists deploy their Bandwidth Tools. These tools are designed to waste the Bandwidth of the targeted fake sites.
Visit www.aa419.org
