Mapped: The Top Import Partner of Every U.S. State
AI systems with ‘unacceptable risk’ are now banned in the EU TechCrunch
Gamers help solve quantum physics problem where A.I. failed ZMEScience
Visual Capitalist: “The Trump administration is imposing a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico [this is on hold for one month – maybe] and Canada, along with a 10% tariff on imports from China. The U.S. President says he wants strong action to halt the flow of the opioid fentanyl and its precursor chemicals into the U.S. from China via Mexico and Canada, as well as to stop illegal immigration across U.S. borders.
We’re falling behind in the fight against fraud. Though there are far more prosecutions now, fraud continues to be a growing problem. Over the last ten years fraud has really taken off.
FTC numbers of complaints and losses
2013: over 1 million; $1.6 billion
2023: 2.6 million; $10 billion
IC3 numbers of complaints and reported losses
2013: 262,813; $781,800,000
2023: 880,418; $12.5 billion
Three things I’ve learned as a lawyer. Not all, always, but surely mainly true.
- Facts are stubborn things
- The lawyer on the other side isn’t evil (even if their client is)
- Juries make good decisions
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
- Spain seizes €136,000 of fake Apple products
- Online scammers hitting Los Angeles fire victims; paper responds to scams
- Rental scams on the rise in Los Angeles
- Rise in text messages claiming unpaid road tolls follows Chinese development of new text scamming tool
- Canada: Ontario Provincial Police announce new website on fraud; one stop shopping for fraud victims
- AT & T data breach may have lost FBI logs of calls to confidential informants
- Nebraska: Woman who sold counterfeit goods from China at online store gets time served
- Nigeria arrests 25 for fraud at Yahoo training academy
- California: Two Filipinos and an American indicted for scam that called authors, told them publishers or movie studios wanted their work, then charged them; took in $44 million from 800
- California: Tulare police arrest man for grandparent fraud; scammer sent Uber driver to victim’s home; cops had driver take them to scammer
- Canada: Man in Manitoba pleads guilty to grandparent fraud; pretended bail was owed
- UK: Which? explains text messages offering jobs
- Man at site of a car crash asks police to give him a break since he’d been drinking
- Man accused of stealing pickup from fire department and using it to pull over other drivers
- Drug counselor arrested after selling cocaine to undercover cops
- FTC Commissioner Ferguson takes over as FTC Chair
- FTC Commissioner Lina Khan, now no longer Chair, announces plans to resign in the coming weeks
- Outgoing FTC Chair Khan issues statement on her accomplishments
- Outgoing FTC Consumer Protection head releases report on state of consumer protection bureau
- CFPB settles with owner of Cash App over fraud in its system; to pay $275 million
- FTC settles with GM over sharing driver location information and behavior without permission
- FTC settles with Greystar, companies largest property manager, over deception about rent payments
- CFPB settles case against student loan trust over debt collection practices; to pay $2.25 million
- FTC settles with video game maker Genshin Impact; to pay $20 million; can no longer allow kids to make purchases without parent consent
- CFPB settles with Honda finance arm for credit report errors; must pay $12.8 million
- CFPB settles with Draper and Kramer mortgage; alleges redlining in Boston and Chicago
- FTC sends $5 million in refunds to victims of credit repair scheme
- Boston: Man pleads guilty to PPP fraud and stealing his father's social security benefits
- New Orleans: Man pleads guilty to PPP fraud
- Texas: Man gets 7 years prison for PPP fraud; got $8.5 million
- Los Angeles: Man pleads guilty to PPP fraud; got $65 million
- Virginia: Man pleads guilty to PPP and related fraud; got $600,000
- Atlanta: Man out of prison on probation gets 41 months prison for PPP fraud; got $323,0000
- UK: Lancashire man gets suspended sentence for Covid Bounce back loan fraud
- Cincinnati: Man gets 63 months prison for PPP fraud; got $1.2 million
- Attack hits largest refinery in Costa Rica
- Two Russian men on trial in Brussels over ransomware
- Data breach of teacher software giant results in loss of all historical data on 60 million students and teachers
- Attack forces school to close in Cheshire, UK
- Oklahoma City: Three men (Romanians?) arrested for ATM skimming
- Missouri: State police arrest three (Romanians?) for ATM skimming
- Utah: 17 year old and parents arrested for ATM skimming
- Iowa: Man arrested for gas pump skimming
- France: Woman who was scammed by Brad Pitt imposter in romance fraud attempts suicide, goes to psychiatric hospital
- Chicago: Woman gets time served for acting as money mule for romance scammers; was herself victim