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Man from Costa Rica gets 15 years prison for sweepstakes fraud; calls from Costa Rica claimed to be from government agencies; no one had won; collected over $4 million; operated more than 15 years

New FTC Data Spotlight that looks at business and government impersonation frauds that want you to turn over funds to keep them “safe”

  • Reports by older adults losing $10,000 or more quadrupled since 2020
  • Those who lost $100,000 or more increased sevenfold
  • One third of the money lost was sent in crypto
  • These scams also begin as tech support frauds
  • $690 million reported lost to this type of scam last  year

Boston: Thirteen charged in grandparent scam that operated from a call center in the Dominican Republic; took in $5 millionForeign gangs operating in the US: Foreign fraud gangs have at least thousands of people physically in the US who help operate the frauds. Some make calls directly; others send mail or email and may help set up websites. And of course these US based helpers launder money, open bank accounts, recruit money mules or go to the homes of victims to pick up money (or hire Uber driver or other couriers).  Thus well over a hundred people from India have been convicted over this type of work.  And Romanians fly in, set up ATM skimmers, and fly out.  Many of these criminals are here illegally, either having crossed the border or overstaying tourist or student visas.  When caught taking part in frauds couldn’t/shouldn’t they be deported?

Full report here