BFR 32; August 24, 2017

TOP STORIES

If you got a robocall from a cruise line in the last few years you may be able to get up to $900 from a class action.  Enter your phone number to see if you are eligible (I was)

 FTC says 1/3 of Americans have been enrolled and ripped off by autopay plans that charge them every month — without permission

Police in India bust two more call centers of IRS impersonators; arrest 8; names of 4000 Americans found; rooms had 50 employees

 Lithuanian man extradited to the US and indicted for Business Email Compromise fraud that took Google and FaceBook for $100 million

 Quebec man who pleaded guilty to Grandparent fraud in Brooklyn, and laundering Moneypak proceeds, has case sentencing delayed due to reports he claimed to also own a boiler room in the Dominican Republic

 Prison for man from India sentenced in Miami

• He collected and moved money from victims of IRS impersonators and grant frauds
• Collected money from Western Union/MoneyGram, Green Dot, transferred funds to India
• Article explains how he moved the money

 Tip of the week – how to end unwanted mail.  Many of us get catalogs, credit card offers, and other information in our mail that just goes to the trash.  Legitimate companies spend money to send that material, and would save money by not sending it.  This piece from the FTC explains how to stop such mail, how to get on the do not call list, and how to stop credit card and other credit offers.  Sorry, none of these will stop frauds from sending material.  But here is an article that explains how bogus sweepstakes, psychic and phony charity mail work.

 Fraud News Around the World

• Nigeria third in the world (behind US and UK) in suffering from cybercrime
• Police catch two Nigerians that had gotten access to retirement funds of retired Utah couple and had check for all the couple’s money mailed to them
• Police nab Chinese teacher at University in Wisconsin; got gift card information from India, cashed those, got new gift cards, and sold gift cards to China/how it all worked
• UK proposes banning all cold calling relating to pensions to end fraud
• Two Nigerians arrested in Salt Lake City for fraud; had stolen all of 410K money from retired couple
• Norton, Massachusetts Western Union agent helps prevent older man from losing money to grandparent fraud
• Nigerian sentenced to prison in Utica, New York for Business Email Compromise fraud; arrested when he flew to New York
• Canadian senior finds her phone number was “spoofed” in calls to victims who were told that they had a tax refund due to them and they needed to go to a website to enter information – where they were then scammed. She has heard from dozens of victims
• UK’s Barclay bank airs funny TV spots on avoiding fraud

FTC and CFPB

• CFPB issues two reports on student loan debt; number of students with debts of more than $20,000 has doubled since 2002; more potential victims for student debt frauds?

IRS fraud

• Couple tells IRS they are receiving refund checks from tax fraud at their house. Complain that despite notifying IRS they continue to receive checks months later.

ATM Skimming

• Three men arrested in Camarillo, California for ATM skimming; one defendant had served time in prison before for same activity
• Brazilian man indicted in Boston for ATM skimming
• Two Romanian men in US on tourist visas arrested in Medford, New Jersey for ATM skimming

Romance Scam Fraud    

• Police in India arrest Nigerian for romance fraud
• Police in Nigeria arrest man for romance fraud against American
• The emotional toll of romance fraud

Ransomware

• Ransomware losses to Maersk shipping estimated at $300 million

Jamaican Sweepstakes Fraud

• Another Jamaican charged in North Dakota; extradited after being on the run in Jamaica for a year
• Native Jamaican arrested for lottery fraud in Florida

 Just for fun….

 Don’t prejudge older guys with guns….

 Add to the News! Have you seen a recent prosecution or other fraud information that others should know about?  Send it into the Baker Fraud Report at steve@bakerfraudreport.com

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