The IRS plans to crack down on 1,600 millionaires to collect millions of dollars in back taxes Associated Press.: “But not billionaires. Never billionaires.”
CFPB settles with Lexington law firm; did business also as creditrepair.com; get $2.7 Billion judgment; company now in bankruptcy
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reports sharp increase in scams offering jobs at home working on apps; claim to pay in crypto; set up online account for victims showing money increases, but can never withdraw it
FBI, working with seven European countries, takes down Qakbot botnet operation that sent spam with attachments containing malware that affected 700,000 worldwide To dismantle the botnet, the FBI gained lawful access to Qakbot’s infrastructure and redirected Qakbot traffic to FBI-controlled servers, which instructed infected computers to download an uninstaller file. This uninstaller was created by law enforcement to untether the victims’ computers from the Qakbot botnet, preventing further installation of malware through Qakbot.
United Nations report says at least 120,00 people in Myanmar and 100,000 in Cambodia are being forced to operate scams
- Includes crypto romance scams and illegal gambling
India: Police bust room calling US citizens and pretending to be with the Social Security Administration; 84 arrested
Review and Recommendation: I really liked Truman, by David McCullough, a biography of Harry Truman that is both highly readable and shows the extraordinary issues this not so ordinary man successfully confronted in the pivotal periods just before and after World War II. All of McCullough's books are well worth it.
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, fake check fraudand crypto scams
Fraud News Around the world
- India: Two Nigerian men arrested for package delivery fraud
- New Jersey: Three plead guilty to selling counterfeit computer networking equipment worth $13 million
- FBI warns of malicious code hidden in beta testing apps on mobile phones
- India arrest two for phishing scam
- Reseachers find that AI can listen to you type and figure out your passwords
- US law allows bank to bank wire transfers, often to scams; radio interview with Stephanie Zimmermann
- Thailand: Man kills family, self, after becoming victim of massive loan scam
- When cornered by Seattle police, burglar drinks gasoline; unclear why
- Chicago TV news crew reporting on robberies is robbed at gunpoint
- Man arrested for DUI while driving kids Power Wheel jeep
- FTC and States resolve case against Roomster; forbidden to do fake reviews
- Eight women allege improper conduct by former FTC Commissioner Josh Wright; he files defamation case against several of them
- Texas: Man gets 15 years prison for PPP fraud; got $4 million
- Los Angeles: Man pleads guilty to PPP fraud; got $345,000
- Washington, DC: Jury finds local cop guilty of PPP fraud; got $18,000
- UK finds Facebook groups brimming with hoax posts; many about claimed serial killers; goal to get readers to click on dodgy links
- Social media AI generated deepfakes on the rise; fake ads often pretend to be Elon Musk in investment fraud
- Boston: US files forfeiture action to recover crypto stolen in fraud scheme
- FBI explains the data they need with a crypto fraud report
- Binance warns of crypto romance frauds; says complaints have doubled
- Thailand: Nigerian man and 13 Thais arrested for collective work on romance fraud
- Boston: Man (Nigerian?) gets six months prison for laundering money from romance scam victims
- Twitter in China flooded with sex come ons; get victims on camera with supposed girls, record sessions, and demand money to prevent release
- Indonesia arrests 88 in gang that met victims online, got them to perform sex acts on video, and blackmailed them; victims mainly in China
- EFCC in Nigeria recovers $26,000 stolen from a British romance scam victim and returns the money to her