When is free Wi-Fi not free? When it's bait...
Open your laptop computer in any airport, hotel or coffee shop, and you'll often find unsecured Wi-Fi networks available for free browsing.
Although these innocent-sounding offerings - Anytown Municipal Wi-Fi, Karen's Home Router, etc. - generally offer safe harbor, they sometimes serve as bait for hackers, identity thieves and other bad guys.
Neither the FBI nor anyone else can quantify Wi-Fi fraud. Thieves rarely get caught. Victims seldom know enough to report the crime. But with suspicious networks everywhere and wireless security much in the news, security experts advise caution.
"You got two major scams, the Evil Twin and the Man in the Middle," said Dennis Tsu, vice president of marketing for AirTight Networks Inc. in Mountain View, Calif.
