Baker Fraud Report

Global scam study concludes 25% of people worldwide have been scam victims with losses of over $1 trillion

FTC issues new report to Congress on frauds against older victims

• Investment frauds; tech support scams and business impersonation top the list

DOJ releases report on elder fraud to Congress

Tampa: Man extradited from Moldova and charged; sold computer passwords on the dark web; had at least 350,000

India undertakes national crackdown on tech support operations; raids 76 locations

India: Mumbai police raid call center defrauding Canadians by claiming they were law enforcement and need to keep victim money “safe;” five employees leap from top of one story building to escape and are injured; 17 arrested

Full report here

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FTC releases study with data on scams that begin on social media

• One quarter of victims reporting since 2021 say scam began on social media, with losses of $2.7 billion
• More than any phone, email or any other method of contact
• Younger people hit harder; 47% with victims 18-19; 38% of those 20-29
• 44% of losses due to online shopping where goods were never delivered, mainly clothing and electronics
• But 53% of the money lost was to investments; mainly crypto romance fraud

Full report here

At least some police really can recover crypto stolen by scammers

Los Angeles: Three from China convicted by jury of gift card fraud; callers overseas claimed to be police or other authorities and assessed “fines”, also worked for tech support scam; had victims buy Target gift cards, which defendants laundered; handled $2.5 million

Full report here

North Carolina: Nigerian man found guilty after trial for scheme that contacts lawyers and asked to be represented; sent them a fake counterfeit check as payment, and then canceled and asked for a refund by bank transfer; got over $20 million
 
New Jersey: Two men from India get 41 months prison each for fraud that used robocalls from India to impersonate the Social Security Administration or the FBI and DEA; handled $1.2 million of victim money
 
New Facebook scam claims to be giving away laptop or Playstation, but asks for money to pay shipping; no product exists

Australia reports that scams calling Chinese speakers, claiming to be with the Chinese government, and threatening arrest or deportation, have recently doubled; demand victims pay a “fine.”

India busts eight tech support fraud call centers; arrest over 200

Full Report here

7^th Circuit affirms the FTC’s use of Section 19 to get restitution for fraud victims; case had gone to the Supreme Court

Hackers in North Korea stole $200 million in 2023; over $2 billion in the last five years

FinCEN issues alert warning of increase in mail theft; fake checks

New scam tactic?  Caesars casino in Las Vegas suffered a ransomware attack after a caller pretended to be an employee who wanted to change their password.  Who monitors password change requests at your organization? Is it pretty easy to change one?

Chinese hackers get access to the US government email system Is this a worldwide effort?  I’ve also seen recent reports of similar problems in Canada, the UK, and Sri Lanka.

Full Report here

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CFPB settles with Lexington law firm; did business also as creditrepair.com; get $2.7 Billion judgment; company now in bankruptcy

Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reports sharp increase in scams offering jobs at home working on apps; claim to pay in crypto; set up online account for victims showing money increases, but can never withdraw it

FBI, working with seven European countries, takes down Qakbot botnet operation that sent spam with attachments containing malware that affected 700,000 worldwide To dismantle the botnet, the FBI gained lawful access to Qakbot’s infrastructure and redirected Qakbot traffic to FBI-controlled servers, which instructed infected computers to download an uninstaller file. This uninstaller was created by law enforcement to untether the victims’ computers from the Qakbot botnet, preventing further installation of malware through Qakbot.

United Nations report says at least 120,00 people in Myanmar and 100,000 in Cambodia are being forced to operate scams

• Includes crypto romance scams and illegal gambling

Three Nigerian men extradited from the UK get prison for inheritance scams; 90 months, 87 months, and 82 months

Full report here

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Social Catfish releases report on State of Internet Scams, using FTC and IC3 data, as well as their own survey

• Losses have increased have at least quadrupled over the last five years, from $2.7 billion to $103 billion
• Estimate real annual losses to romance scams at $200 billion
• Massive increase in victims 20 and under
• Most common apps used were Facebook, Google Hangouts, WhatsApp; Instagram and Plenty of Fish
• State by state breakdown

DOJ announces nationwide coordinated effort to fight Covid 19 fraud;

• 371 arrested; losses of $836 million
• Many, or most, cases involved PPP fraud or unemployment fraud

UK jury finds t wo teenagers guilty of ransomware attacks, hacking; victims in include City of London Police, Nvidia, Rockstar Games, and Uber

FBI identifies crypto accounts containing more than $40 million stolen by North Korea

Australia arrests Chinese man involved in scam that took $100 from US victims in crypto romance scams

Full study here

Indiana: Man from India gets nearly four years prison; collected victim money sent by FedX in response to calls claiming the victims Social Security Number had been used in a drug crime; took in $1.5 million

India busts call center targeting Americans, arrest 115 people. Callers claimed to be US Customs, and said packages addressed to them contained illegal substances; had victims buy gift cards, supposedly to cancel the shipment

Poland, with help from Euorpol and the FBI, shut down operation that provided scammers with bulletproof hosting that let them do cyber attacks; arrest five

Singapore police arrest ten who pushed apps on social media that  allowed scammers to get access to bank accounts and steal money

Fake Check fraud up dramatically; crooks rob letter carriers, steal mail from boxes; thefts up 78% over the last year; FINcen says complaints to banks have nearly doubled over two years

Florida: Man gets 8 years prison for interstate moving fraud; used brokers, and raised price after loading goods; just repay nearly $3 million; codefendant also goes to prison

Arizona:  Nigerian man extradited from the UK gets 87 months prison; two other Nigerians extradited from Spain plead guilty to scheme that mailed letters to elderly in the US claiming they were due an inheritance but first had to send money for various fees

Full Report here

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Interpol effort against Black Axe and other African gangs results on 103 arrests; froze over €2 million; action in 21 countries

HBO to air show by whistleblowers who worked at telemarketing fraud room claiming to raise money for bogus charities

India: Call center busted that targeted US victims; advertised loans but required fees in advance and payment by gift cards; 18 arrested

Full report here

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An extended look at the Maria DuVal psychic scam, which took in at one point $23 million every year from direct mailings and small money returns

Spain arrests 101 over text message scams that pretended to be the victim’s bank telling them of security problem and then crooks transferred money from victim accounts into mule accounts going to Malta

Full report here