Exclusive: Musk’s SpaceX is building spy satellite network for US intelligence agency, sources sayReuters
So instead of apologising to the CSIRO for trying to discredit their work, Opposition leader Peter Dutton strolls around in a white coat hoping Australians will somehow see him as smarter than the scientists? Is this guy insane? #DuttonThug
The International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) has named Nigerian cult groups Black Axe, Airlords and Supreme Eiye as prominent organised crime groups using human trafficking victims to carry out ‘pig butchering’ scams.
INTERPOL published findings of its latest assessment of global financial fraud on Monday.
According to INTERPOL’s new assessment, these crime groups have upped their use of technology to better target victims around the world.
“Business Email Compromise remains one of the most prevalent trends in Africa; however, there is increasing use of the pig butchering fraud. Cases of this fraud type have been identified in West and Southern Africa, targeting victims in other jurisdictions beyond the continent,” INTERPOL stated on Monday.
“Certain West African criminal groups, including the Black Axe, Airlords and Supreme Eiye, continue to grow transnationally, and are known to have extensive skills in online financial fraud such as romance fraud, investment fraud, advance fee fraud, and cryptocurrency fraud.”
READ MORE: How Black Axe Laundered €1.3 Million Using Irish Teens
WHAT IS PIG BUTCHERING?
Top tech website WIRED added “Pig Butchering Scam” to its hacker lexicon in 2023.
FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center releases data for 2023
- Reported losses in 2019 were $3.5 billion; 2023 $12.5 billion
- Crypto romance fraud was $4 billion
- Tech support fraud up significantly
- $60 million paid to ransomware
- Job and government impersonation also big jumps
Australia’s scam call center issues quarterly report
Investment fraud (crypto romance) drops 38%
Joseph Epstein in the WSJ: All scam callers get from me is a little taste of Gershwin
Need an expert witness for consumer protection or fraud issues? Let me know.
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
- FTC amends telemarketing sales rule to expand from just calls to consumers to include calls to businesses; FTC proposed amending the rule to include inbound tech support scams
- Hong Kong customs seizes $2.8 million of counterfeit shoes bound for Colombia
- India arrests ten who were making counterfeit prescription drugs
- 40 State AG’s call for Meta to address takeovers of social media accounts; assert complaints increasing sharply
- Nigeria: EFCC arrests 48 for internet fraud
- Ukrainian scammers report that Canada is their number one target due to lack of prosecutions; stole more than $200 million from Canada last year
- Virginia: Man gets almost ten years prison; bought credit card numbers on darknet and recoded them on cards; laundered money through items bought retail to resell on Facebook Marketplace
- Wired: A wide network of social media influencers make big money promoting counterfeit luxury goods from China on Tik-Tok and similar sites
- New Zealand: CEO charged with acting as a money mule for frauds; handled $1.7 million
- Utah Solicitor General Holyoak confirmed by Senate to FTC Commissioner slot
- Senate confirms two republicans to fill vacant FTC Commissioner seats
- FTC sends $4.1 million in refunds to victims of student loan debt scam
- Miami: Jury convicts Broward county sheriff’s deputy for PPP fraud
- Virginia: Army reserve officer pleads guilty to PPP fraud
- Spokane, Washington: Three indicted for PPP fraud; got $250,000; tried to get much more
- Miami: Man gets 71 months prison for PPP fraud; got $4.4 million
- Virginia: Man indicted for PPP fraud; got $10.6 million
- Miami: Two former members of Miami police plead guilty to PPP fraud
- Columbus: Two women indicted for PPP fraud; got $2.8 million
- Scammers doing BEC fraud now pretend to be US Dept. of Transportation, Small Business Administration, and Agriculture Dept.
- Houston: Nigerian man gets 145 months prison for BEC and two other fraud schemes; got over $15 million
- Chicago: US seizes $1.4 million in Tether stolen by tech support scammers using pop ups; to be returned to victims
- Binance founder Zhao ordered to surrender passport, report any travel
- Washington, DC jury convicts Russian/Swedish owner of bitcoin mixer Bitcoin Fog of money laundering
- Australia arrests Nigerian man for romance fraud
- Oklahoma: Nigerian man gets 18 months prison for romance fraud
- Japan is seeing a big jump in crypto romance fraud
- Tokyo: Nigerian man arrested; mailed illegal drugs into Japan and tried to have his romance fraud victims receive them for him
- Nigeria: Man gets 18 months prison for romance fraud
- Korea: Romance scammer posing as a woman arrested after Swiss man flies there to meet “her”
- South Africa: Man arrested for romance scam run on Canadian victim
- Air Force colonel charged with giving classified information to woman he met on foreign dating site