Crypto scams rake in $5.6B a year for cyberscum lowlifes, FBI says
Nearly half of Nvidia’s revenue comes from just four mystery whales each buying $3 billion–plusFortune
Why AI Can Push You to Make the Wrong Decision at Work Brain Facts
The Worsening Raspberry PI Rp2350 E9 Erratum Situation Hackaday
FTC reports US seniors lost $110 million to frauds where payment was made through Bitcoin ATM’s last year
- Volume of reported losses grew tenfold since 2020
- Reported losses $65 million first half of 2024
- Two thirds of losses by those over 60
- 88% of those who used Bitcoin ATM to send money to a scam involved tech support scams or impersonation of the government or a business
- Number of machines in the US went from 4250 in January 2020 to 32,000 in June 2024
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center issues warning that North Korean hackers are actively reaching out to employees of crypto sites; very sophisticated; learn about victims on social media and target them; may impersonate real contacts; may build “relationships” over time before providing innocuous attachments that contain malware
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 fraud and crypto scams
Fraud News Around the world
Philippines arrests 19 in raid on operation that was calling pretending to be bank employees
85% of counterfeit goods in South Korea come from China
Philadelphia: Man pleads guilty to selling counterfeit opioid pills online
Brooklyn: Member of gang of crooked movers who held goods ransom gets two years prison
Canada: RCMP warns of calls from scammers claiming to be from bank security
Police in South Africa arrest five for sales of counterfeit goods and machinery worth R2.5 million
Canada: Police in PEI arrest two for grandparent fraud after they go to victim home to get the money
FBI announces new education/awareness campaign about consumer fraud
What’s behind the Nigerian Black Axe organized crime group
Gift card history and the types of fraud they are used for
Article about the recent prosecution of those telemarketing magazines to seniors on a huge scale
UK: Lloyds bank estimates that UK consumers lost $8 million last year to products ordered online that were never delivered
Nigeria: EFCC arrests 48 for internet fraud
New York: Police raids seize $3 million in counterfeit goods in Chinatown
Canada: Two arrested for grandparent fraud in Alberta; apparently went to victim’s home
California: Jury finds owner guilty in trial of student loan debt scam; took in $6 million
Humor
- RV burglar hides under a rock but is found by a drone
- Arrested drug dealer had a fake FBI ID with his picture on it
- CFPB resolves case with NewDay lending, alleges deception in refinancing of VA loans; to pay $2.25 million
- FTC resolves case against video security company Verkada over spam and infosecurity issues; to pay fine of $2.95 million
- New FTC study looks at required income disclosures for multi-level marketing companies; finds most don’t disclose numbers for those who made nothing or lost money; don’t account for necessary expenses
- Maryland: Man gets 18 months prison for PPP fraud; got $3.5 million
- Los Angeles: Man gets 210 months prison for ID theft to steal unemployment benefits; also stole titles to dozens of cars
- Philadelphia: Prison for two who used ID theft to get unemployment benefits
- San Diego: Leader of group that stole more than $5 million in California unemployment benefits gets five years prison
- Arizona: Man pleads guilty to PPP fraud; got $850,000
- California: Restaurant owner pleads guilty to PPP fraud; got more than $4 million
- Baltimore: Former city finance employee pleads guilty to PPP fraud; also to accepting bribes
- Wisconsin: Man gets 28 months prison for PPP fraud
- New Orleans: Woman gets five years probation for PPP fraud; must repay $210,000
- Myanmar scam call centers move south to evade Chinese law enforcers; pivot to scams in English
- India rescues 47 from scam call centers in Laos
- Philippines raids scam compound; detain 160, mostly from China and Indonesia; arrest owner
Greenbelt, Maryland – Olusegun Samson Adejorin, a Nigerian national, was extradited from Ghana and arrived in the United States on August 30, 2024 to face federal charges for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and unauthorized access to a protected computer related to a $7.5 million scheme to defraud two charitable organizations. Adejorin had his initial appearance on August 30, 2024, and is currently detained pending trial.
- Maryland: Nigerian man extradited from Ghana for $7.5 million BEC fraud
- Virginia: Two Nigerians get 10 and 5 years prison for BEC fraud; got $5 million
- US agencies call out Iranian hacking groups for running ransomware attacks
- US government issues warning after recent attack on Halliburton
- Study finds 78% pay ransom; 74% attacked again
- Number of bitcoin ATM’s has increased 17 fold over the last two years
- South Korea: CEO of crypto exchange stabbed in court during his trial
- In ten hacking incidents crypto owners lost $313 million last month
- UK: Two men (Romanian?) convicted of ATM skimming
- Australia: Two Romanians get prison for ATM skimming
- Cincinnati: Woman gets two years prison for laundering $8 million from romance frauds
- West Virginia: Man indicted for romance fraud
- UK: Yahoo boys from Nigeria extort boys online and then flash their cash on social media; at least three UK suicides so far
- Online extortion scams aimed at boys are now including photos of the victim’s home taken from Google maps
On September 11, 1777, General Sir William Howe and General Charles Cornwallis launch a full-scale British attack on General George Washington and the Patriot outpost at Brandywine Creek near Chadds Ford, in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on the road linking Baltimore and Philadelphia.
The 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks
US commemorates 9/11 attacks with victims in focus and politics in view – “The U.S. is remembering the lives taken and those reshaped by 9/11, marking an anniversary laced with presidential campaign politics as President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris stood together in the plaza where the twin towers once stood. Sept. 11 — the date when hijacked plane attacks killed nearly 3,000 people in 2001 — falls in the thick of the presidential election season every four years, and it comes at an especially pointed moment this time…The attacks killed 2,977 people and left thousands of bereaved relatives and scarred survivors.
- The planes carved a gash in the Pentagon, the U.S. military headquarters, and brought down the trade center’s twin towers, which were among the world’s tallest buildings. The catastrophe also altered U.S. foreign policy, domestic security practices and the mindset of many Americans who had not previously felt vulnerable to attacks by foreign extremists. Effects rippled around the world and through generations as the U.S. responded by leading a “ Global War on Terrorism,” which included invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Those operations killed hundreds of thousands of Afghans and Iraqis and thousands of American troops, and Afghanistan became the site of the United States’ longest war…”
- The New York Times – 23 Years After 9/11, Families of Cancer Victims Fight for Benefits. Some families are still pushing for recognition after their loved ones died from cancer that they believe is linked to Sept. 11, but that the federal government won’t recognize as such.
- THE MAN WHO KNEW (9/11 DOCUMENTARY) On September 11, 2001, as the Twin Towers collapsed, one of the tragic losses was John O’Neill—the man who may have understood the threat of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda better than anyone in America. A former FBI agent who tirelessly pursued Al Qaeda for years, O’Neill had been warning of the group’s rising danger, investigating attacks like the USS Cole bombing and U.S. embassy bombings in Africa. Despite his expertise, his outspoken nature clashed with the rigid FBI culture, sidelining him at a critical moment. Just weeks before 9/11, he had left the FBI to take a security role at the World Trade Center—a tragic twist of fate. His story serves as a haunting reminder of the missed warnings that preceded that dark day. Via: Frontline PBS Watch more shows like this: youtube.com/@frontline#NeverForget #WorldTradeCenter#HeroRemembered