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Friday, June 21, 2024

Former city attorney and police officer gets more than 7 years prison for PPP fraud; got $15 million

 ChatGPT is bullshit (PDF) Ethics and Information Technology. AI = BS (NC, January 2023).

Homeland Security explains how frauds from India, not limited to tech support, get victims to buy gift cards, and then Chinese gangs launder them into buying real good



Canada: Operation Octavia, an RCMP investigation into tech support fraud, called nearly every number in Canada; police find 20 Indians who acted as money mules; arrest a Chinese man at airport when he returned to Canada

Nigeria: Woman arrested after she stabs and kills lover; he didn’t pay her share of proceeds from internet fraud against an Indonesian victim


Troubling new opinion from the 9th circuit court of appeals on fraud.  In US v. Milheiserthe Court recently reversed the criminal conviction of several toner scammers. For years these companies called offices, told the receptionists that they were their regular supplier of toner for their copier,  that the price was going up, but that they would send “more” at the old, cheaper, price. The victim companies had never in fact dealt with these scammers before.  A jury convicted them of mail fraud.
          The Court reversed the convictions, concluding that victims in fact did receive toner at the price disclosed in the call, thus concluding that the defendant’s lies were not “material” to victims.  Needless to say, this decision is bound to cause trouble in future consumer protection cases, and I believe it is wrongly decided. But it reminds us that no matter what the legal standard is, it is important to have a solid theory of consumer injury – to explain why the lies matter to consumers.
 

Fraud Studies: Here are links to the studies I’ve written for the Better Business Bureau: puppy fraudromance fraud; BEC fraudsweepstakes/lottery fraud,  tech support fraudromance fraud money mulescrooked movers, government impostersonline vehicle sale scamsrental fraud, gift cards,  free trial offer frauds,  job scams,  online shopping fraud,  fake check fraud and crypto scams


 
Fraud News Around the world
Humor FTC and CFPBVirus Benefit Theft Business Email compromise fraud Ransomware and data breachesBitcoin and cryptocurrency  ATM SkimmingRomance Fraud and Sextortion