Baker Fraud Report

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North Korea.  Sometimes we talk of scam gangs that come from a particular country where they seem safe and can attract similar-minded people.  But sometimes there are actual governments who actively support and profit from frauds. This seems to be the case with North Korea.   Recent news has tied the country to applicants getting remote jobs for US companies, where they not only get paid but can get access to computer systems. 

North Korea also seems to be behind ransomware efforts and hacking crypto accounts.  Many believe the country also used scam actors to support their nuclear program.

Need an expert witness for consumer protection or fraud issues?  Let me know.

Full report here

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President Trump Signs Take it Down Act into law  Can this be used against those extorting young men by luring them into online encounters where they perform intimate sex acts?

First report of the National Task Force on Fraud and Scam Prevention. This group tries to draw together law enforcement consumer organizations, and private sector banks, telecoms, social media and tech companies to share information and strategies to fight consumer fraud..

Fraud Gangs: Regular followers of the Fraud Report recognize that the fraudsters are highly organized groups that are mostly reaching out from other countries.  For the next several weeks I will focus on many of those gangs and different aspects of their operations and modus operandi.  I welcome any additional thought or feedback.

Jamaica – Lottery Scams.  This beautiful (but poor) island is home to a vast number of frauds that call, often claiming to be Publisher’s Clearinghouse, and telling people they have won.  But in order to get your winnings you must first pay fees for taxes or other costs.  One hallmark of the Jamaicans is that they also tell victims that a new Mercedes is due to be delivered to their house.   Here is the study I did on this type of fraud. Jamaican law enforcement works with the US, and itself prosecutes many of these scammers.  In fact, the very high murder rate in Jamaica has often been attributed to rival scam gangs, often fighting over lead lists of who can be called. And the money that comes from lottery scams is also then used to buy guns (illegal in Jamaica) and drugs.  Of course many Jamaicans have immigrated to the US, and some are actively helping with this fraud.

Full report here

WSJ: Meta has a flood of scammers on Facebook and Instagram;  claims it is not responsible for billions in losses

Full report here

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Nigerian scammers engaged in online sex extortion, BM Boys, have led to suicides of 46 American young boys; contact them initially on Tik Tok and Instagram

60 Minutes: How international fraud gangs steal money from US government benefit programs

FBI warns scammers are now calling/texting claiming to be bank fraud reps; tell you hackers have access to your account and you need to move money to them to keep it “safe;” have you download a bogus app to track it

Google unveils AI system with Chrome to combat pop ups used for tech support frauds

Full report here

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Important! New Report from the UN office of Drugs and Crimes on scam compounds in SE Asia

• Operated by four major Chinese organized crime gangs
• Work with Mafia, cartels, worldwide
• Have their own crypto exchanges and blockchain
• Moving into other countries as well

IRS now allows scam victims to deduct their losses

Goods from China under $800 had been duty free; that changes with new executive order; may help prevent scam counterfeit goods fraud on the internet

New law expected soon: Take it Down Act would criminalize deepfake porn posted without consent and require social media platforms to remove it within 48 hours

Full Report here

GAO issues new study of consumer fraud in the US

• Urges a government-wide strategy to fight them
• Suggest complaint databases be harmonized
• Find a way to measure how effective education efforts really are

FTC releases new data on top text message scams of 2024

• $470 million reported losses; five times that of 2020
• Top five text scams are:
• Fake package deliveries
• Phony job scams
• Fake fraud alerts
• Bogus claims of unpaid tolls
• As much a 98% of people open and read texts
•  

National Elder Fraud Coordination Center begins operating

DOJ announces new policy on crypto issues; will bring fraud cases but not actions designed to impose regulatory requirements

Full report here

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Road toll text messages scams tied back to Chinese operation

City of London Police say victims reported losses of £650 million last year to crypto investment frauds (crypto romance?); complaint numbers down but losses up 13%; younger people most likely to be victims

BBB releases new study on the Identity theft industry; information sold on the dark web and obtained with AI tools; most common use of ID theft is to apply for credit cards

Full report here

MoneyGram settles with 49 States and DC over transmitting money from fraud victims to fraudsters; to pay $13 million

Trump issues Executive order to crack down on ticket scalping and undisclosed fees to event tickets

Tools and resources available to scammers to ease their work

A scam by any other name would smell as bad.  One thing I’ve been encountering are attempts to come up with new names for old scams, even when there is no apparent reason for that. For example, Chainalysis is reporting that the largest fraud they see come from  “automated push payments,” which appears to be no more than fraud victims sending money to fraudsters from their banks. So why the use of this new terminology?  I’ve similar concerns about the use of terms like “smishing” (scam text messages seeking data) and vishing (same, but through a phone call). 

I don’t see how use of these terms really helps the public understand what is going on.  Are these just a bit too clever?  Is there any way such terms actually help?  

Full report here

NYT: How scam compounds rely on a very organized money mule system to get the proceeds from victims

New York: Jury convicts man for fraud that sent mass mailings to consumers claiming they had won prize but needed to send back small sum to claim winning; no one won

CBC: Third part in series on grandparent scams.  How police use surveillance and other tools for locate and make arrests of scammers

Full report here

White House fires the two Democratic Commissioners; sets up legal fight over 1930’ Supreme Court case saying Presidents can’t do that

Canada: CBC Why Montreal is a hub of grandparent fraud: (video 3:01)

Miami: Jury convicts man who sent mass mailings claiming recipients had won a sweepstakes and had to send back a small sum to claim prize; but no one ever won

Text Messages about unpaid road tolls:  We’ve warned about these frauds before, but text messages claiming people need to click a link to pay tolls has just exploded. The FBI reports that they are now getting two thousand complaints per month, and toll road operators and local authorities around the country have recently issued warnings about this fraud.

Full report here