Albo focusing on cybercrime: Enforcement operation against Nigerian organized crime gang Black Axe arrests 84 for fraud and 327 for acting as money mules

Anthony Albanese says government taking 'comprehensive look' at stronger anti-scam protections in face of growing cybercrime

JPMorgan Chase says it fights off 45 billion hacking attempts each day

New Facebook scam claims people can buy unclaimed bags from O’Hare for $10  And this is happening now all over the world.
 
Ireland: Enforcement operation against Nigerian organized crime gang Black Axe arrests 84 for fraud and 327 for acting as money mules

Apple settles class action over gift cards; alleged that Apple kept 30% of money from scams using their cards

 
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

• Los Angeles:Two men indicted for AirBnB fraud; double booked rentals or rentals were nonexistent; made $8.5 million
• Kentucky: Woman indicted for repeatedly taking items from WalMart shelves, taking them to counter as “returns” in exchange for gift cards
• India: 200 people a day lose money to cyber fraud in New Dehli
• US has prosecuted 19 from 2019 bust of xDedic dark web marketplace; many of them Nigerians
• FDA warns of counterfeit Ozempic being sold as a weight loss drug; has seized thousands of units
• Pittsburgh: Indian man gets 33 months prison for work in helping India-based IRS impersonators

Humor 

• Man who burned down his house while trying to cook steak in a toaster is unhappy with insurance payout

FTC and CFPB

• FTC, State of Connecticut sue Nissan dealer for junk fees
• FTC issues report on Do Not Call complaints; received over 2 million complaints in 2023, vast majority were about robocalls
• FTC sues data broker for selling sensitive location information; banned from doing so again
• FTC is returning $1.2 million to victims of deceptive mortgage modification scheme

Virus Benefit Theft 

• Birmingham: Woman indicted for PPP fraud; got $650,000
• Las Vegas: Man gets 19 months prison for PPP fraud; got $1.1 million; advertised on social media that he could help others do the same
• Maryland: Man gets three years prison for PPP fraud; got $1.2 million

Business Email compromise fraud 

• Indiana: Nigerian man gets 10 years prison for laundering funds from BEC and romances scams; handled $1.46 million

Ransomware and data breaches

• Ransomware hit 141 US hospitals in 2023
• Attack got info on nearly 1 million people from Ambulance service
• Hits county school district in South Carolina
• Attack on major US mortgage lender Loan Depot
• Iran hacks Pittsburgh water authority
• Data breach of San Francisco law firm that handles data breaches
• Cyber attack takes down all systems in French township
• Ransomware attack cripples systems of World Council of Churches
• Attack on the Toronto Zoo

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency

• North Korea was responsible for theft of $600 million in crypto last year
• Maryland: Man arrested for massive crypto investment scam operating around the world

ATM Skimming

• Colorado: Police seek Romanian man released on bail after skimming arrest; may have fled the country
• California: Man arrested for ATM skimming

Jamaica and Lottery Fraud

• State of Arizona charges four women who ran lottery fraud for years

Romance Fraud and Sextortion 

• Massachusetts woman arrested; charged that she tried to poison soup of her husband to be with fake soap opera star who encouraged this; apparent romance fraud