Australia: Man arrested for rental fraud that used social media
Better Bureau updates my 2021 study on gift card fraud
- Complaints to the BBB are up 50% this year over last
- Most involve online shopping schemes
- Messages people are most likely to click to open:
- You’ve won a prize!” – 25%
- Fake missed delivery, or delivery problem, notification – 20%
- Information about a purchase the recipient didn’t make – 22%
- Sign in and location verification messages – 20%
China: Myanmar turns over 31,000 from scam call centers to Chinese police
AI is definitely here: A friend of mine took some voice from a podcast I did, and a bit of video from an old press event, and came up with a video of me that has totally new statements from me that I never said. See it here. He used free software he found online.
CEO of Binance, largest US crypto exchange, to step down, plead guilty, and to pay $4.3 billion over anti money laundering issues
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
- Robocall rates highest in Chile, Indonesia, Argentina, and Hong Kong; twice rates in the US; new worldwide report explains
- Singapore: In collaboration with bank, five arrested for acting as money mules
- New York: Two men charged over record $1 billion in counterfeit goods that were seized
- Australia: Man arrested for rental fraud that used social media
- Thailand arrests five for running fake police website used to scam people
- Virginia: Two Nigerians, both former spouses of other Nigerians, plead guilty to laundering money from fraud victims
- Atlantic City: Woman pleads guilty to scheme where she used obituaries to contact surviving spouses, claimed to have insurance proceeds for them, and had them buy gift cards
- South Africa arrests man at airport fleeing the country for selling fake iPhones
- Czech and Ukrainian police take down bank impersonator call gang that claimed problem with account and needed to move funds to “safe” account; ten arrested; victims mainly Czech; lost over €8 million
- Ireland arrests nine over scam text and WhatsApp message fraud; seize €1 million in crypto
- Canada: Competition Bureau finds that TicketNetwork was guilty of deception; added on fees, pretended to be event venue; to pay $825,000
- Horse that breaks loose in cargo hold forces plane to return
- Prison for woman that robbed bank to pay for plastic surgery
- CFPB proposes rule that would allow it to regulate PayPal, Venmo, Zelle
- CFPB announces settlement with Toyota Motor Credit; says made it tough to cancel car loan bundles; denied refunds; to pay $60 million
- FTC sends an additional $857,000 to victims of Napleton auto over junk fees
- CFPB and 11 states sue Prehired, allege false claims of job placement, debt collection; to pay $30 million
- FTC resolves case against DNA testing company over accuracy of its reports; to pay $700,000
- The FTC announces $25,000 award for ideas on how to tackle voice cloning used in scams
- AI generated women are already being widely used in romance frauds
- Deepfakes of Wolf Blitzer and other news anchors are increasingly appearing on Facebook feeds
- South Carolina: Prison for four who engaged in PPP fraud; got $5.8 million
- New Jersey: Business owner charged with PPP fraud; got $3.2 million
- New Jersey: Woman charged with PPP and unemployment fraud; got $694,000
- San Diego: Businessman charged with PPP fraud; got $3 million
- San Diego: 14 charged with unemployment benefit theft; got $5.2 million
- New Jersey: Man pleads guilty to PPP fraud; got $400,000
- San Antonio: Man charged with PPP fraud
- Attacks Toyota Financial Services in Europe and Africa
- Ransomware gang files complaint with the SEC about target that had not reported attack
- Hit the British Library, systems down
- Shuts down systems of Idaho city
- Data on sex lives of 100,000 stolen after ransomware attack on UK agency
- Hits City of Long Beach, California
- Losses to crypto hacks total $173 million in November alone
- Tether freezes $225 million in crypto tied to crypto romance scams from Southeast Asia due to DOJ investigation
- DOJ seizes $9 million in Tether crypto tied to crypto romance frauds
- California:Two men from Romania get 11 years prison for ATM skimming
- Indiana: Two men (Romanians?) arrested for skimming at Wal-Mart
- California: Two Romanian men arrested for ATM skimming