Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.
Order an iPhone, support a Latvian hacker
Looking for an iPhone, the hot new technological gadget from Apple? Then don’t click on the pop-up ad that appears while visiting Google or Yahoo!, reports SunbeltBLOG. All you will accomplish is to financially support some ne’er-do-well in Latvia.
The pop-up ads direct the computer user to iphone.com—but not the iphone.com run by Apple. The fake Web site provides a three-step process for ordering the mobile telephone: pick the model of your choice, provide your personal information and then send payment via Western Union or Moneygram to someone in Latvia.
According to the British magazine PC Advisor, Latvia is “a hacker hotbed like its Baltic neighbours and former occupier, Russia.”