UK: Sim Swapping events were up 1000% in 2024
Part 6 on Gangs: Cameroon. Another large source of fraud is Cameroon, a large country in Africa that shares a border with Nigeria. It is a former French colony. Perhaps the most familiar fraud operating there is the sale of pets online that don’t exist. Petscams.com tracks much of this activity. The hallmark of their scams are online sales and collecting money for products that don’t exist and are never sent. In addition to pets Cameroon-based scammers “sell” guns, ammunition, illegal drugs and other goods. I’ve never seen enforcement there. And there is a large private industry operating in Cameroon that creates web sites and other elements for the use of frauds, including copycats versions of real bank websites.
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
- New Microsoft research says Nigerian letters intentionally use bad English and misspellings to focus their attacks on the uneducated
- India raids 42 locations, arrest 9, in crackdown on money mule networks; may have colluded with bank officers
- Atlanta: Jury convicts two from India of involvement in calls claiming to be social security and then threatening arrest; asked victim’s to move their money to a “safe” account
- India arrests head of robcall gang that impersonated government officials and hit victims in the US and Canada; ID of Canadian law enforcement seized in searches
- UK: Fake QR codes on parking meters tied to Dubai-based fraud operation that uses British shell companies
- Microsoft works with police in India to take down a large network of tech support fraud centers; six arrested
- Korea arrests four for sales of counterfeit cosmetics supposedly from Estee Lauder and others worth $5.7 million
- New BBB study looks at scams that hit businesses; ransomware/data breaches, BEC fraud, and fake business service offerings
- Canada: Anti-Fraud Centre and OPP issue warning about callers impersonating bank security and law enforcers
- Boston: Brazilian man gets five months prison for selling counterfeit green cards and social security cards; was here illegally
- Tech support scams in Massachusetts hit record high; reported losses went from $1.2 million in 2019 to $50 million last year
- Extensive article on how networks of crooks get bank accounts to launder money from crypto romance frauds
- Visa defeats class action claiming it lacked warnings on Vanilla gift cards that they might be tampered with
- BBC: Singapore police can now freeze bank accounts of people they believe to be fraud victims; prevent their use of ATM’s
- UK: Man gets 2.5 years prison for laundering money for call centers in India; fled to Germany after arrest and was extradited from there
- New Hampshire: Man (Chinese?) arrested for tech support fraud when he went to victim’s home to pick up money
- DOJ announces nationwide crackdown on North Koreans working remotely for US companies; searches, seizures result
- Michigan: Man from India gets 63 months prison for laundering money for social security impersonator and tech support fraud; personally picked up gold bars; took in over $500,000
- FTC sends $3.5 million in refunds to victims of a credit repair fraud
- Senate version of Beautiful Bill would reduce funding for the CFPB by half
- FTC Chairman releases statement on importance of Made in the USA claims
- Texas: Business owner gets more than three years prison for PPP fraud; got $1.8 million
- Kansas City: Woman sentenced to 51 months prison for PPP fraud; got $900,000
- Baltimore: Three get 78 months prison each for ID theft to get unemployment benefits; got $2.3 million
- Boston: Man pleads guilty to PPP fraud; got $500,000
- Mississippi: Man gets five years prison for PPP fraud; got $3.5 million
- North Carolina: Man gets 5 years prison for PPP fraud; also was a felon who had a gun and used ID theft to get loans
- Maryland: Nigerian man extradited from France gets 41 months prison for fraud in getting FEMA benefits; got $8 million
- Houston: Nigerian man arrested for “large-scale” BEC fraud
- Ghana extradites three men to the US for $100 million BEC fraud
- New York: FBI arrests man for BEC fraud; fake checks; got $1.7 million
- India releases study about the rise of crypto scams and money mules there
- Spain busts crypto investment fraud; arrest five; took in €460 million; crypto romance fraud?
- Russia convicts two of ransomware, but turns them loose after
- Attack on Iowa medical center in Harlan
- Nigeria third in the world for ransomware attacks on operations there
- Attack on Swiss company that maintains government data
- Texas: Shuts down library systems in Fort Bend
- Hits German charity that feeds starving kids around the world
- UK: Man gets more than four years prison for laundering money from romance fraud victims; handled at least £1.9 million
- Boston: Nigerian man pleads guilty to laundering money for romance frauds; sent $2.5 million to Africa with crypto
- St. Louis: Woman pleads guilty to laundering $1 million in victim funds for Nigerian romance fraud
- Spain: Canary islands police arrest man for romance fraud
- Ghana to extradite man to the US for $100 million romance fraud