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Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Omaha: Nigerian man gets 45 months prison, subject to deportation after, over BEC fraud; had been extradited from Nigeria

 So,

so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell, blue skies from pain Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail? A smile from a veil? Do you think you can tell? Did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts? Hot ashes for trees? Hot air for a cool breeze? Cold comfort for change? Did you exchange A walk-on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? How I wish, how I wish you were here We're just two lost souls swimming in a fishbowl, year after year Running over the same old ground What have we found? The same old fears Wish you were here
- Pink Floyd


This way cafe - Museum of Sydney


Film Review: How the CIA Threatens and Terrorizes Children — “A Vaccine Against the Pandemic of Lies” —





There are no “safe” accounts. No one is asking for your money to protect it.  Over the last several years more and more consumers have been told that their accounts are at risk.  This seems to have begun with scammers calling and claiming to be with Social Security, and then transferring them to a supposed federal agent who told them that they were going to be arrested and their accounts would be frozen unless they transferred their money to the government to “protect it” temporarily before it was returned.  This is described in some detail in my study of government imposter frauds. There are, now, many variations of this scam. Sometimes they claim to be with a bank and say there is ID theft.  But the common thread is that you need to give your money to someone trustworthy to protect it.  No one legitimate will ever do this.   I believe that this scam stems from India.
 
Digital arrest scams sweep India
 
India arrests 8 for “digital arrest” scams
 
New study shows Chat GPT can be used to do voice-based frauds; And Anthony Pratkanis says: The ChatGPT article is by computer scientists testing if the latest edition can be used to execute fraud; it is supposed to have safeguards to prevent its use in crime.  The researchers simulated being a victim while the LLM did the fraud -- mostly on the back end of moving money around.  The key finding is that ChatGPT wasn't useful for bank transfers and impersonating IRS agents.  However, credential theft from Gmail succeeded) 60% of the time, while crypto transfers and credential theft from Instagram only worked 40% of the time.  This sort of test is important to see if OpenAI and their products are living up to the hype.  
 
Win money for consumer education!  NACHA, the association that governs the electronic payment processing industry, announces a contest for short consumer education videos with theme of “Stand Against Scams”

  • Does not focus on any particular type of scam or fraud
  • Videos must be 60 seconds long
  • Entries are due November 12
  • One Grand Prize Winner: $5,000; Second Place Winner: $2,500; Third Place Winner: $1,000
  • Entry rules here

 
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
Washington: Police at Dulles airport arrest man from Indonesia who was operating a black money fraud; flew in from Togo
Nigeria arrests 55 for internet fraud
Ohio: Woman from India arrested for laundering money from victims who had been called, supposedly by police or banks, and told their money was at risk and had to be moved to “safe” location; went to victim’s home to pick up money
New malware app takes over calls to banks on Android systems
Justice department releases annual report on enforcement actions in cases affecting older consumers
Nigeria: Man gets 14 years prison for internet fraud involving business opportunities
Michigan: Sixth man (Indian?) sentenced to 15 years prison for tech support scam that got $11 million
Canada: Prince Edward’s Island woman, from Chile, gets 4 months prison for grandparent fraud; went to victim’s home to pick up money
Boston: Woman who owned spa indicted for importing counterfeit Botox and other drugs and then injecting them in clients over three years
Canada: Ontario police arrest man from the US for rental scam on Facebook
Ireland identifies 1000 people tied to Black Axe gang; responsible for losses of €84 million
Robocalls down in the US, but phone carriers have not all implemented required controls to battle them
Stranger saves older couple $9000, were about to send money at bitcoin ATM in jury duty scam
Singapore: Six charged in scam that used malware to take unauthorized funds from victim bank accounts; $8 million lost
UK shuts down over 200 shops selling counterfeit goods; many arrests reported
South Carolina: Two brothers plead guilty to sales of counterfeit Viagra worth $35 million
California: Napa police arrest man (Chinese?) who went to home of victim to collect money from fake PayPal email scam
Nigeria arrests 130, mostly Chinese, for internet fraud
National Consumers League warns fake reviews are associated with billions of online sales
Rhode Island: Two arrested for grandparent fraud; nabbed when they went to victim’s home to pick up money
India: Police bust major money laundering network using mules
Ireland: Nigerian Black Axe member gets four years prison; acted as a “herder”; recruited 12 money mules that collected €331,000
Canada: Windsor man arrested for grandparent fraud
Vermont: Man (Indian?) convicted of tech support fraud
Humor

FTC and CFPB

Artificial Intelligence and deep fake fraud

Virus Benefit Theft

Kidnapping and forced to scam

Business Email compromise fraud

IRS and tax fraud

Ransomware and data breaches

ATM Skimming

Jamaica and Lottery Fraud

Romance Fraud and Sextortion



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