Top Stories

Wired: Social media influencer teaches Nigerian Yahoo boys their trade

Part eight on Fraud gangs:  Nigeria

Nigerian scammers seem responsible for a larger share of consumer fraud than any other group.   Nigeria is a former British colony, fairly well educated, and largely English-speaking.  It has a large population of 227 million and thus is quite a bit larger than Russia with 143 million.  Despite huge oil reserves, many people are relatively poor.  Thus there has been a huge Nigerian Diaspora around the world; very large numbers have emigrated to the US, Canada, Europe, Ireland, and Asia. The main law enforcement body in Nigerian, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (the EFCC) has told me that they believe there may be 250,000 Nigerians living in mainland China.

     Scammers from Nigeria, often known as Yahoo boys, are the primary operators of romance scams, but also operate a large number of other frauds, such as Sextortion scams targeting teenage boys, business email compromise fraud,  inheritance and lottery fraud, and the theft of government benefits, such as unemployment and PPP fraud.

     Often groups operate several different frauds simultaneously with partners around the world.  There is a strong fraud support network that they employ to provide internet support, move money, fake web sites; fake passports, etc.  These are just facts. There is no more reason to believe that all Nigerians are scammers than it would be to believe all Italians are part of the Mafia. 

Next week: The Black Axe

Full report here

GAO report finds organized fraud groups are targeting federal programs, and half of prosecution have been of fraud gangs

Man from Costa Rica gets more than 15 years prison for running lottery scams from call centers there that impersonated US government officials; made over $4 million

Part Seven on Fraud Gangs: Canada

At one point there were thousands of people in Canada operating fraud telemarketing operations against the US.  Due to great joint work between Canadian and US law enforcement much of this is now gone.  Note that it is very difficult to extradite from Canada.   But much fraud remains.    The main fraud coming out of Canada is grandparent fraud, traditionally centered in Quebec.  The head of a major group behind this fraud was recently arrested.  Police estimate that they took in $30 million.  The SQ in Quebec believe organized crime groups are also involved in grandparent fraud, though it not clear if  this is the Italian Mafia or the Nigerian Black Axe. The Toronto Police Service and the RCMP have also done great work on tracking the activities of the Black Axe across Canada.

Full report here

Top Stories

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 is 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 that creates web sites for the use of frauds, including copycats versions of real bank websites. 

Full report here

Top Stories

Canada: Profile of Gareth West, believed to be the Montreal mastermind behind grandparent scams; he has now fled

Interpol announces sharp rise in cybercrime in Africa; issues new Threat Report here

Part 5 on Gangs:  Mexico/Peru.  I’ve always been surprised at how little consumer fraud seems to come from Mexico.  But many from the US and Canada have bought timeshares in Mexico, and people that can not longer visit (or afford them) have long been subject to frauds claiming to have a buyer. Of course fees must be paid in advance, and sellers are assured that those will be returned to them at closing. But of course there is no closing.  The Jalisco drug cartel seems to be involved in this fraud, and some had been kidnapped – and later killed – at call centers doing this fraud. 

Peru also has been a home to several different frauds concentrating on Spanish-speaking people in the US.  Several have been sued by the FTC or prosecuted in the US.

 I would be quite surprised if there are not also fraud gangs operating from places like Brazil or Argentina, but I’ve not seen or heard of those. Possibly they are simply in Spanish Language press, and thus they are not on our radar. But one would think that someone would report on them.

Full report here

Top Stories

UN reports that China run scam compounds are relocating from Southeast Asia to Africa, especially to Nigeria; UN study itself here

Texas: Six (Nigerians?) sentenced to prison for romance fraud, BEC fraud and theft of unemployment benefits; got $17 million

Washington: DOJ files to forfeit $225 million in crypto, apparently from crypto romance frauds

Part 4 on Gangs:  India.   Though tech support scams seem to have begun in the US, it now comes almost wholly from India.  And after the crooks have remote access to computers, they can easily find log in information for financial accounts.  And India also is the main home for scams that call impersonating bank security officials or federal agents.  Victims are threatened with arrest and told they move their funds to the caller in a “safe” account to preserve them.    But of course those funds are simply stolen.  India also has a raft of scams offering small business and personal loans; fees are required to get the loans, which never material.  In the last year or two scammers from India have been arriving at victim’s homes to pick up money, often requesting actual gold.  Well over 100 from India have been prosecuted in the US handling the money for these frauds.  Notably the Indians seem to be working with Chinese, at least to pick up funds.

India has busted a number of large call centers, and made many arrests, though I’ve yet to see them actually prosecute anyone.  I’ve seen no evidence that they have ever extradited anyone to another country either.

Obviously India is a huge English-speaking, but poor, country with many people who have experience in call centers.

Be careful when going a Google search for a customer service number!  A growing numbers of scammers post their own numbers high in search results (they pay for this) and use them to scam people. This has long been  a favorite tactic of tech support scammers, but now it is spreading

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

Full report here

Top Stories

Part III on Gangs:  Romania.  Alert readers will note that the majority of people arrested for ATM skimming are from Romania.  They fly in, spend several days collecting data and money, and fly out again.  This is clearly organized crime. And these groups have also been involved in “selling” cars, RV’s and farm equipment online – but that doesn’t exist. We have also seen Romanian gangs fly in and conduct burglaries in upscale areas.  And I’m sure there is more crime. 

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

Full Report here

Top Stories

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

Top Stories

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

Top Stories

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