Hubert Horan: Can Uber Ever Deliver? Part Thirty-Two: Losses Top $33 Billion But Uber Has Avoided The Equity Collapse Most “Tech” Startups Experienced
An update on Uber financial fakery and continued lack of bona fide profits.
Supreme Court rules 9-0 that bankruptcy filers can’t avoid debt incurred by another’s fraud CNBC
Supreme Court Rejects Ohio Man’s Bid To Sue Police Over Arrest of Facebook Parody NBC
Top Stories
Six Nigerians indicted for inheritance fraud
- Three lived in Spain; three in the UK
- One has been extradited from the UK
- Contacted victims telling them of big inheritance
- But needed to pay “taxes” and other fees
- Used other victims as mules
Chainalysis releases 2022 Crypto Fraud Report
- Losses hit an all time high of $20.6 billion (excluding FTX etc)
- Majority of that was ransomware
- Stolen funds up 7%
- Pump and dump fake token investments a major problem
PayPal has suffered a “credential stuffing” attack; 35,000 affected; thus crooks are hacking into accounts; if you are contacted by PayPal make sure it is really them
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
- New York AG shuts down Buffalo debt collection firm; must pay $1.2 million penalties and restitution
- Southern Illinois: Man gets 33 months prison after reselling fake designer phone cases from China
- Fraud obtaining funds from Zelle way up; in last 18 months 193,000 reports with losses of $213 million
- UK arrests five for “courier fraud,” impersonating police claiming victims bank accounts have been hacked and they need to provide their funds to protect them
- How to remove yourself from Internet searches such as online phone directories
- Police in Canada arrest Hamilton man for grandparent fraud
- Police in Guelph, Canada, arrest two from Montreal for grandparent fraud
- Etsy alleged to have become a haven for sales of counterfeit goods
- Pakistan arrests two Nigerians for internet fraud
- Spain extradites UK man to the US over hacking Obama, Biden twitter accounts
- FBI says it has contained massive cyber attack on it systems
- Home title fraud, where crooks sell your home, is not common but is increasing in Canada and the UK
- New Jersey bans carnival game company that operated on the boardwalk for ten years; overinflated basketballs, displayed prizes no one ever won
- Ireland warns that scam gangs are planting people at banks and tech companies to aid fraud
- Montana: Woman who kept acting as a money mule after law enforcement warned her gets 57 months prison; ordered to repay $2 million; handled money for romance, investment, and other scams
- Wrong way driver crashes; complains about oncoming cars being in her way
- Bolivian convict tries to escape jail by crawling through grass disguised as a sheep
- The Hill: Drama and chaos at the FTC
- DOJ files suit representing the FTC in case against VoIP operation that made robocalls to pitch debt reduction services
- FTC sets up new Office of Technology
- FTC sues maker of vitamins and other supplements for “hijacking” sales and reviews of other products on Amazon
- FTC sends 24 cease and desist orders to contact lenses companies over failure to comply with contact lens rule, which requires them to give you a free copy of prescription so you can shop
- Michigan court allows the FTC to proceed with asset freeze, injunctino against credit repair company under Section 19
- Los Angeles: Two men get 34 and 42 months prison for PPP fraud; also filed false tax returns for nine professional athletes; cost $44 million in losses
- Los Angeles: Man gets 54 months prison for PPP fraud; bought Ferrari, Bentley and Lamborghini; got $5 million
- Nevada: Two men plead guilty to stealing identities to get virus unemployment benefits: got $934,000
- Europol announces eight arrests after busting gang engaging in CEO fraud from France and Israel
- BEC scammers now using Google translate and machine learning to compose scam emails
- Los Angeles: Woman is indicted for acting as a money mule for BEC scams; continued after law enforcement warning
- City of Oakland, California declares state of emergency following attack
- Hits online gaming company Riot Games
- WSJ: Ransomware declined in 2022
- Chainalyis estimates that scammers got far less revenue in crypto in 2022; dropped nearly in half
- SEC sues Singapore-based Terraform and its CEO for investment fraud in crypto
- Oregon: Four Russians indicted for DeFi Ponzi scheme advertised on social media; victims lost $340 million around the world
- Co-owner of crypto fraud OneCoin that stole $4 billion, wanted by FBI, believed to have been murdered by organized crime
- Card skimming in the US increased 79% in 2022
- New US law reimburses victims of skimming food stamp/SNAP cards
- EFCC in Nigeria arrests man for romance fraud on US victim; married her and took for for $200,000; after she was suicidal
- Boston: Man (Nigerian?) extradited from the UK and charged with romance fraud
- Rhode Island: Woman pleads guilty to romance fraud; operated as a mule and worked with two others in Georgia investigation
- Singapore police arrest 23 money mules for assisting internet frauds
- Nigeria: Man gets a year prison for romance fraud
- Romance scams in Australia, and how to talk to those caught up in them
- Mississippi man goes public about his son’s suicide resulting from internet exposure and extortion