September 5, 2024 at 12:50PM Musician Michael Smith faces charges for a streaming fraud scheme, accused of using AI-generated songs streamed by thousands of bots to collect over $10 million in royalty payments from Spotify, Amazon, Apple, and YouTube Music. He employed over 1,000 bot accounts and manipulated streaming data to avoid detection. The scheme … Read more
August 13, 2024 at 01:46AM A woman in Delhi fell victim to a “digital arrest” scam, where scammers posed as CBI officers and extorted money by threatening her husband’s arrest. After being coerced into paying, she realized it was a scam. Police arrested three men involved and recovered incriminating items. This type of fraud, common … Read more
June 25, 2024 at 02:33PM The FBI reported that scammers posing as helpful lawyers defrauded victims of approximately $10 million in crypto scams within a year. These scammers prey on the vulnerable, claiming to recover lost tokens for a fee, and even impersonate government agencies. Beware of cryptocurrency recovery services and report such scams to … Read more
May 16, 2024 at 03:24PM The U.S. Justice Department charged five individuals, including a U.S. citizen and a Ukrainian man, for involvement in cyber schemes benefitting North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. Two were arrested and face charges related to fraud, identity theft, and money laundering. The scheme compromised over 60 U.S. identities and generated at … Read more
May 1, 2024 at 01:04PM 16 individuals face charges in the US for targeting elderly Americans in a “grandparent scam.” The accused, based in the Dominican Republic and the US, impersonated relatives in distress and coerced victims into sending money. Couriers transported over $55 million in assets, with accused facing up to 20 years in … Read more
April 5, 2024 at 12:50PM Hackers are using hijacked Facebook pages and advertisements to promote fake AI services, infecting users with password-stealing malware. The malvertising campaigns trick users into fraudulent Facebook communities, then entice them to download malicious executables. The stolen data is sold on the dark web or used for further scams. These sophisticated … Read more
April 1, 2024 at 12:45PM Impersonation scams in the U.S. saw $1.1 billion in losses last year, a three-fold increase from 2020, says the FTC. Of 490,000 reported scams in 2023, 330,000 were business impersonations. Scams are mostly conducted through phone, email, and text, with blurred lines between business and government impersonation. The FTC highlights … Read more
March 14, 2024 at 04:31PM Tech support businesses Restoro and Reimage have settled a $26 million case with the FTC, following accusations of running a Windows antivirus scam. The companies allegedly used scare tactics to coerce consumers into paying for unnecessary services, with the FTC conducting undercover purchases to gather evidence. Restoro and Reimage have … Read more
January 25, 2024 at 01:14PM Abu Dhabi-based investment firm National Investor alerts about fraudulent use of its name, logo, and employee names in online scams promoting fake investment opportunities and tenders. Scams involve soliciting personal, business, financial information. The firm’s warning comes after similar phishing messages impersonating official entities and manipulated search engine results related … Read more
January 19, 2024 at 04:25PM Five individuals have been accused of a scheme involving over $7 million in fraudulent work expense claims submitted to an IT consultancy. The alleged embezzlement scheme comprised of no-show jobs, false timesheets, and disguising personal expenses as business expenses. They now face charges of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, tax … Read more