Top Stories
Australia’s ACCC warns that callers claiming to sell bonds as investments jumped 265% so far this year; scams use fake comparison websites
Fun Summer Viewing: I went to a movie theater for the first time since Covid last week and saw the new movie Top Gun: Maverick . It’s great! No politics, lots of fun. And I’m half convinced that Tom Cruise can actually act. So have some fun and check it out. I really think it is better than the original.
Fraud Studies. Here are links to the studies I’ve written for the Better Business Bureau: puppy fraud, romance fraud; BEC fraud, sweepstakes/lottery fraud, tech support fraud, romance fraud money mules, crooked movers, government imposters, online vehicle sale scams, rental fraud, gift cards, job scams, online shopping fraud, and crypto scams
Fraud News Around the world
- UK travel agent charged with rental fraud; money laundering; handled £1.6 million
- Global action seizes $11 million in counterfeit prescription drugs
- Celebrities fighting back against fake endorsements
- Consumer Reports list of the robocallers the US has taken action against
- House/apartment rental scams up 161% since 2021
- Idaho: Jury convicts five men for selling counterfeit cell phones on eBay and Amazon; got $41 million from victims
- Houston: Two men arrested for fraud in PPE sales; clients lost $13 million
Humor
- Court security finds man has 8 inch dagger in shoe; claims they weren’t his
- World’s most worthless guard dog lies down by side of arrested drug dealers
- Philadelphia wedding cut short as brawl ends with woman shot by another guest
- Woman sets wrong house on fire after attempting revenge on her ex
- Quest to find $181 million in bitcoin on hard drive lost in city dump
FTC and CFPB
- FTC settles action against credit card payment processing company over deception with its fees to small businesses; company to pay $4.9 million
- CFPB settles action against US Bank for opening bank accounts for customers without authorization; to pay $37.5 million
- FTC settles with Opendoor Labs over claims about online home buying; company to pay $62 million in refunds
- FTC wins two actions against companies that failed to deliver PPE early in the pandemic; to refund total of $17.6 million
- FTC award for criminal liaison work goes to AUSA Katherine Kopita in the Northern District of NY
Virus Benefit Theft
- West Virginia: Man pleads guilty to PPP fraud; got $41,000
- Kentucky: Man gets 33 months prison for PPP fraud; got $370,000
- Illinois: Peoria man gets one year prison for PPP fraud
- California: Prison inmate pleads guilty to theft of unemployment fraud; got $1 million
- Los Angeles: Man pleads guilty to PPP/EIDL fraud; got $6.6 million
- Florida: Woman gets 19 months prison for PPP fraud; got $865,000
- Los Angeles: Third man pleads guilty to PPP fraud scheme; also filed false tax returns on professional athletes; got at least $11.8 million
Social media
- Researchers discover Facebook investment ads go to network of 11,000 web sites in Europe
- Google settles suit over play station fees for $90 million
Ransomware
- Attack on UK school
- Hits Luxembourg energy supplier Enovo
- Attack on German semiconductor company Semikron
- Crash in crypto bad news for ransomware gangs
Data Breaches
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency
- SEC sues 11 people for crypto pyramid scheme; including people in Russia and Republic of Georgia; took victims for $300 million
- Proposed US legislation would give crypto authority to the Commodities Futures Trading Commission
IRS and tax frauds
Romance Fraud and Sextortion
- Ireland: Three Nigerians arrested for romance fraud are members of Black Axe gang
- India arrests two members of social media extortion gang; got young men online with women, taped revealing sex acts, and demanded money
- Japanese head of romance fraud ring arrested while hiding in Ghana
- AARP podcast: Crypto investment fraud in a romance scam