I tried to say no to gin.. but it’s 40% stronger than me!
While Inna Yashchyshyn visited Mar-a-Lago and schmoozed with former President Trump and his inner circle, she was being pursued by a senior member of Russian organized crime.
ATO ‘passive’ in providing robodebt data
ATO director Tyson Fawcett threatened to 'cease and desist' robodebt data before backing down
Orwell in 2022 or almost 2024: difference between Elon and Julian - Publisher Elon has $44 billion
Belmarsh Prison refuses permission for Julian Assange to participate in European Parliaments Sakharov Prize Award today Julian Assange's wife to attend on husbands' behalf - Today 9.30am CET/ 8.30am GMT
Press Seminar on the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought
Australian PM Anthony Albanese adds to growing political pressure to #FreeJulianAssange
Editors and publishers of the five media organizations who partnered with Julian Assange on #Cablegate, published 12 years ago - The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, El País and Der Spiegel - call for his immediate release #FreeAssangeNOW theguardian.com/media/2022/nov
Unless someone leaks an email? We’re stuck with their version of the story! Where’s the whistleblower
The US crackdown on Chinese economic espionage is a mess. We have the data to show it. MIT Technology Review
U.S. manufacturing orders from China collapse.
Who do you suppose broke this story: “Stanford president under investigation for research misconduct”?
It wasn’t the San Francisco Chronicle or the L.A. Times.
We might finally harness the limitless fresh water vapor hidden above the oceans Interesting Engineering. Chuck L: “The link to the Nature paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-24314-2”
In Clover London Review of Books . On McKinsey and the consulting industry generally
Texas: 21 people charged in Operation Crypto Runner against those who laundered money from BEC, romance scams, and tech support fraud; worked with international scammers; more than $300 million involved
Interpol announces worldwide effort against online fraud
- Romance scams, sextortion, phishing, money laundering, investment fraud
- $130 million seized
- 975 people arrested
- 30 countries took part
Europol announces major effort to tackle money mules
- Actions in 25 countries
- 2649 people arrested
- €17.49 million intercepted
New FINRA study examines risk factors that cause different types of scams to succeed; threat/fear the most common
Review and recommendation/Courtroom Drama of the week: Next up is Breaker Morant from 1980. It is a wonderful Australian film, involving the Court Martial of several Australians during the Boer War. Directed by Bruce Beresford, it stars Edward Woodward and Bryan Brown. Though it is not a true story, the movie is very well done, and I think you’ll like it. It gets 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
New links!
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, free trial offer frauds, job scams, online shopping fraud, and crypto scams
Fraud News Around the world
- BBB updates pet fraud study; number of complaints down; losses increasing
- Canadian AntiFraud Centre says it has reports of 197 victims of pet frauds this year; complaint numbers are down considerably from 2021
- One in ten young people in Belgium have been approached to act as money mules
- People in the US warned of fake sites offering ETIAS travel documents for trips to Europe
- Deluge of identity theft claims in the US stem from dodgy credit repair companies
- Ontario study finds that taking your PC or device to a brick and mortar store may not be safe; privacy violations accessing them happened 50% of the time; more often with females
- Singapore: Six money mules arrested
- UK finds £500 million a year lost to online subscriptions that auto renew without victims knowing it; government is concerned
- London police shut down counterfeit goods factory; seize 150 tons of goods
- Hospice businesses make money from the dying, and fraud and kickbacks result
- How to spot fake online sellers at Amazon
- List of the top 200 passwords (don’t use them!)
- BBC: Taiwan’s efforts to fight telemarketing fraud
- Black Axe and other online fraud gangs expanding in Africa
- India arrests four from Africa for involvement with online shopping fraud and lottery scams
- Australia: Uber forced to pay $21 million over deceptive claims about cancellation of trips
Humor
- Florida man tries to rob WalMart on “shop with a cop day” when 40 sheriff’s deputies were there
- Chicago carjacker insists it “wasn’t me” though he was wearing the same clothes and underwear as the perpetrator
FTC and CFPB
Virus Benefit Theft
- WSJ: How a Nigerian scammer ripped off unemployment, PPP, and stole other government money and was arrested
- New York: 17 employees of NYC and State of New York charged with PPP fraud
- New Jersey: Man sentenced to 46 months prison for PPP fraud; got $1.6 million
- Secret service says hackers linked to communist party in China involved in theft of PPP loans and unemployment benefits
- Maryland: Eleven charged with fraud in seeking unemployment benefits; got $1.6 million
- North Carolina: Father and son get prison for PPP fraud; dad gets four years, son 87 months (7 years +); got $1.7 million
- Georgia woman who was former Atlanta police officer and city attorney indicted for PPP fraud; got $7 million; bought a Rolls
Social media
Business Email compromise fraud
IRS and tax fraud
- Florida: Four Nigerians, three from London, one from Sweden, arrested for hacking computers for ID theft and then applying for bogus tax refunds; to be extradited to the US
- Florida: Nigerian man gets six years prison; used stolen identities to apply for tax refunds; group got $63 million; extradited from the UK
Ransomware
- Attack on hospital in Washington State
- Paris hospital suspends surgeries after attack
- Hits managed cloud company Rackspace
- Attack on Amnesty International Canada linked to China
Data Breaches
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency
- UK court orders bitcoin exchange to refund victims through NFT airdrop
- Scammers took $3.5 billion from crypto scams in 2022, double losses from FTX
- New York: Man gets 18 months prison for SIM-swapping scam he used to steal $20 million in crypto
ATM Skimming
Jamaica and Lottery Fraud
- Identity Theft Resource Center has seen complaints about callers impersonating Publisher’s Clearinghouse increase by 240%; callers ask victims not only for money but also their Social Security Number and bank account information
- Jamaican man wanted for lottery fraud in the US is charged with murder by dangerous driving in Jamaica
Romance Fraud and Sextortion
- London: Romance scammer gets 12 years prison; took victims for £320,000
- In survey by caller ID blocking firm, 96% said they had encountered a romance/crypto investment scam
- Realcall does survey and study of crypto romance fraud; 40% of time first contact is a phone call or text; 25.7% though dating site
- Philippines: Police arrest three, including two Nigerians, for romance fraud
- Nigeria: Man gets six months prison for romance fraud