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Wednesday, February 01, 2023

Dubai arrests 447 people for counterfeit goods worth billions

 FT ‘ Global fixer of corrupt energy deals sentenced to year in US prison - SMH - Bribery is part of the game’: Unaoil executive pleads guilty, but avoids long jail stint


Stories

 FTC reviews data on ages of scam victims
  • Older people not more likely to be victims overall
  • Younger people more likely victims of online shopping, crypto investments; romance scams; fake checks, job scams
  • Older more likely victims of sweepstakes/lotteries, grandparent scams; tech support
Tampa, Florida: Nigerian man who was treasurer of the Ontario Black Axe chapter gets 17 ½ years prison
  • Also ordered to forfeit $10.6 million
  • Mainly was involved in romance frauds
  • Recruited at least ten money mules to send victim funds on to Hong Kong, China, Canada and Nigeria
  • Thanks given to Toronto Police Service and Toronto Strategic Partnership
DOJ, FBI meet with India’s Central Bureau of Investigation to deepen ties in fight against cyber fraud and call centers calling the US



Ransomware payments went down sharply in 2022, from $756.6 million in 2021 to $456.8 million in 2022; more just refusing to pay?
 
Consumer issue of the week: Robocalls.  Great news on this front!  I decided to keep track of robocalls since the first of the year.  So far I have not received any prerecorded calls on either my land line or my cell phone. I did get one live caller trying to sell investments in gold, but none about extended warranties, tech support, or anything else. So someone has been doing good work.  I also recently saw this, which you might find useful. Is that robocall a scam? Searchable database allows you to see if a number calling you has been the subject of a complaint to the FCC
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New links!
Fraud Studies: Here are links to the studies I’ve written for the Better Business Bureau: puppy fraudromance fraud; BEC fraudsweepstakes/lottery fraud,  tech support fraudromance fraud money mulescrooked movers, government impostersonline vehicle sale scamsrental fraud, gift cards,  free trial offer frauds,  job scams,  online shopping fraud, and crypto scams
 
Fraud News Around the worldHumor FTC and CFPB  Virus Benefit Theft Business Email compromise fraud IRS and tax fraudRansomware  Data Breaches Bitcoin and cryptocurrencyATM SkimmingJamaica and Lottery FraudRomance Fraud and SextortionPeople: