Cyber-extortion

The Register reports of a man trying to extort $17 million from MicroPatent, LLC, an intellectual property firm that packages patent and trademark information for law firms. The man used unsecured Wi-Fi access from a couple of homes and dentist office to send emails requesting the $17 million, for which in return, he wouldn't reveal sensitive patent information. He covered his tracks pretty well. At one point, MicroPatent even tried using a web-bug to trace who was harassing them. All to no avail. Police got their break when the extortion demand requested that MicroPatent to "make the check payable to Myron Tereshchuk."