In a perfect example of the importance of social engineering to many fraud scams, it’s been reported that author JK Rowling is warning her fans to beware of a phishing scam designed to take advantage of the near-desperation many Harry Potter fans feel for the next book.  From Wapo:

Author JK Rowling has warned Harry Potter fans to watch out for Internet fraudsters claiming to sell electronic copies of her latest wizard saga — they are trying to steal bank and credit card details.

In the latest "phishing" scam, fans were asked to hand over their bank details to pay for a supposed copy of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" which is to be published on July 16.

"Please, please protect yourselves, your computers and your credit cards and do not fall for these scams," the writer said after her lawyers succeeded in closing down a fraudulent Web site that offered the latest Potter book in electronic form.

….

Police suspect organized crime gangs from Eastern Europe are the main culprits.

On that last bit, an odd juxtaposition with news out of Russia - Russian Information Technologies and Communications Minister Leonid Reiman has come out against Internet censorship:

Mr. Reiman said he does not support the introduction of "nationwide special measures" against spam and thus, the ministry will not introduce them.

"There should be no centralized regulations on our behalf," Mr. Reiman stressed. International community decisions should be followed and technical solutions offered by software and hardware producers, he added.

Because, you know, that would be bad.