Crypto Seizure Breaking News: Major Romance & Pig Butchering Scam Organization Disrupted

Author:
•  U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Department of Justice

Cyber Scam Organization Disrupted Through Seizure Of Nearly $9M In Crypto

Government Seizes Crypto For The Victims

The Justice Department announced today the seizure of nearly $9 million worth of Tether, a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar. These seized funds were traced to cryptocurrency addresses [wallets] allegedly associated with an organization that exploited over 70 victims through romance scams and cryptocurrency confidence scams, which are widely known as “pig butchering.”

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Euro Phishing Gang Shut Down By Europol & Partners

Author:
•  EUROPOL

Europol And Eurojust Support Czech And Ukrainian Police In Taking Down Multi-Million Euro Voice Phishing Gang

The Czech and Ukrainian police have disrupted, with the support of Europol and Eurojust, a prolific phishing gang believed to have defrauded victims across Europe of tens of millions of euros. In Czechia alone, the damage caused by this criminal group is estimated at over EUR 8 million (CZK 195 000 000).

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Crypto Scams – Lloyds Bank Issues Urgent Warning Over Rising Threat

Author:
•  Lloyd’s Banking Group

Crypto scams surge on social media: Lloyds Bank warns investors, FCA issues warning, experts advise on how to stay safe

Provided by Lloyd’s Bank – unedited

• Crypto scams have surged by 23% this year as fraudsters target younger investors
• Victims losing £10,741 on average, more than any other type of scam
• Two-thirds of investment scams now estimated to start on social media
• Findings highlight importance of investing through trusted, genuine companies

A growing number of British investors risk being defrauded by a wave of fake adverts posted on social media, according to a new a warning issued by Lloyds Bank.

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Repeat Nigerian Scammer Adedayo Ilori Gets 25 Years In U.S. Prison

By SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc., Portions U.S. Department of Justice

Repeat Nigerian Scammer Goes To Prison

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ADEDAYO Adedayo Ilori was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil to 25 years in prison for his participation in a sophisticated identity theft and COVID-19 loan fraud scheme.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Even while on bail for federal fraud offenses, Adedayo Ilori could not help but continue his repeated fraud and identity theft crimes. He saw the hardships and disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic and the federal government’s efforts to address those in need as an opportunity for fraud. He lined his own pockets and recklessly used the identities of dozens of victims. Today’s sentence sends a message to Ilori and others engaged in similar crimes that such conduct, especially when it is repeated, will be severely punished.”

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Ragnar Locker Ransomware Gang Taken Down

By SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc., portions by EUROPOL

Ragnar Locker Ransomware Gang Taken Down By Major International Police Operation Against Cybercriminals

Law enforcement and judicial authorities from eleven countries delivered a major blow to one of the most dangerous ransomware operations of recent years.

What is Ragnar Locker Ransomware

Ragnar Locker Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts a victim’s files and demands a ransom payment in order to decrypt them. The ransomware is typically spread through phishing emails or malicious websites. Once a victim’s computer is infected, Ragnar Locker will encrypt all of their files, making them inaccessible. The ransomware will then display a ransom note demanding payment in Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency.

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China Cracks Down On Scammers Part 3 – Chinese & Myanmar Police Arrests 1207 Scammers In Myanmar

By SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

China Public Security Strengthen Cooperation In Police Law Enforcement Along The Southwest Border With Myanmar (Burma) – This Time Capture 1207 Suspects

Police in China and Myanmar detain an additional 1207 in a cyber scam crackdown in a joint operation that brings down 11 criminal call center bases in northern Myanmar in one of the biggest stings of cybercrime gangs in this Southeast Asian country. It is the latest in Beijing’s efforts to root out fraudsters who frequently target Chinese nationals

According to The Jamestown Foundation

On September 6, the United Wa State Party, the political arm of one of the most powerful ethnic resistance armies in Myanmar, handed over to China 1,207 Chinese online scammers for extradition back to China (Eleven Media Group, September 9; Global Times, September 9).

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China Cracks Down On Scammers Part 2 – Chinese & Myanmar Police Arrests 269 Scammers In Myanmar

By SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

China Public Security Strengthen Cooperation In Police Law Enforcement Along The Southwest Border With Myanmar (Burma)

Police in China and Myanmar detain 269 in cyber scam crackdown in a joint operation that brings down 11 criminal call center bases in northern Myanmar in one of the biggest stings of cybercrime gangs in this Southeast Asian country. It is the latest in Beijing’s efforts to root out fraudsters who frequently target Chinese nationals

According to the China Ministry of Public Security – Translated from Chinese

China severely cracked down on telecommunications network fraud crimes involving China in northern Myanmar in accordance with the law, and major results have been achieved. They successfully destroyed 11 telecommunications network fraud centers and arrested 269 criminal suspects.

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A Beginner’s Guide to the Dark Web for Investigators

By Oxana Korzun, CFE, Fraud Expert / Investigations and Risk Management – San Francisco, California

A Short Instruction On How To Find Information On The Dark Web For OSINT Purposes

Many times, an investigation would lead me to the Dark Web. Sometimes it’s to dive into forums and gather intelligence, and other times it would be to check illegal goods markets selling counterfeit products of my clients.

Every time I mention that I use the Dark Web, people imagine a really scary place with criminals selling their goods right and left and that people can suffer dire consequences even for trying to open websites there.

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Shifting Baseline Syndrome (SBS) And Scam Awareness

Authors:
• Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
• Vianey Gonzalez – Psychologist, Certified Deception Professional, Psychology Advisory Panel & Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

A Question Often Asked Is Why Doesn’t Scam Awareness Training And Information Reduce Victimization? The Answer May Just Be Shifting Baseline Syndrome!

Humans tend to prioritize risks based on immediate threats, and one of the ways we identify immediate threats is by rapid changes in our environment, such as new lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) in our vicinity for example. But Shifting Baseline Syndrome biases our view to diminish that awareness of the risk changes.

What is Shifting Baseline Syndrome?

Shifting baseline syndrome (SBS) is a gradual change in the accepted norms for the condition of the natural environment due to a lack of experience, memory, and/or knowledge of its past condition. In other words, as each generation grows up, they accept the current state of the environment as normal, even if it is actually degraded or improved from its previous state.

Of course, our natural environment can be the physical world or our digital one. It can be inside a workplace, our home, our community, our nation, or on the Internet. It can be any environment within which we live, work, or exist!

SBS can be seen in a variety of environmental contexts, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. For example, people who Read More …