- Use stolen identities of law enforcement, teachers, others to apply
- Money goes into money mule accounts, often in other states
- Many of the accounts opened by romance fraud victims
- Biggest problems found so far are Washington State, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Wyoming and Florida
ID theft victims can’t get benefits
Nigerian fraud gang Scattered Canary involved
Here is my study on how romance fraud victims are used as mules
Three big US credit report agencies now let people get one free every week for the rest of the year
FTC launches new dashboard that allows searches of international scam transaction;
- Data from e-consumer.gov web site
- Data search page here
Coronavirus
- Do you remember the Hong Kong Flu in 1969 that killed 83,000 in the US when the population was much smaller? I don’t either
- India investigating corruption in purchases of masks
- Australia sees 2000 complaints about stimulus payment fraud; $700,000 in losses
- U.S. healthcare workers are finding many masks are counterfeit
- SEC sues two companies for claims in press releases that their testing products combat the virus
- FTC: nursing homes can NOT take stimulus checks from people on Medicare
- India sees big increase in virus scams
- ACCC in Australia seeing five times more pet scams complaints during shut down
- Group finds 24 mask sellers on eBay claiming to be FDA certified when they are not
- UK arrests man that was sending text messages claiming to be from the UK government and claiming that victims could get tax refunds due to virus; trying to get their bank account info
- FTC and Small business agency send warning letters to two “lead generators” that offer loans during virus
- Scammers are sending emails that look like they are from a cruise line offering a refund; want your credit card number
- FinCEN issues advisory on virus scams; bogus products, undelivered goods etc.
