SCARS Institute West Africa Project with GISF CyberLaw Academy Series for Criminal Justice Professionals at Ghana UENR – 2024

SCARS Institute West Africa Project in Ghana – August 2024

With the help of GISF CyberLaw Academy Series for Criminal Justice Professionals at Ghana UENR

Primary Category: Advocacy and Policy

Authors:
• SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
• Portions from Modern Ghana

About This Article

The SCARS Institute’s West Africa Project, in collaboration with the Ghana Internet Safety Foundation (GISF), hosted a two-day CyberLaw Academy event in Sunyani to strengthen cybersecurity and justice for victims of cybercrime, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).

The event brought together law enforcement, state prosecutors, and industry leaders to discuss strategies for combating cybercrime and equipping professionals with the skills needed for effective prosecution.

The event highlighted the importance of digital evidence and collaborative efforts, empowering participants with knowledge on applying Ghana’s Cybersecurity and Electronic Transactions Acts in court. The event emphasized justice for victims and building a resilient digital future in Ghana.

SCARS Editorial Team2024-09-18T15:37:47-04:00September 18th, 2024|Categories: • ADVOCACY / POLICY, • CRIMINAL JUSTICE, • CRIMINOLOGY, GHANA, SCARS Institute Editorial Team|Tags: Criminal Justice, Ghana, Law Enforcement, Police, SCARS Institute, West Africa|1 Comment

Defeatism and its Impact on Scam Victims and Law Enforcement – 2024

Defeatism and its Impact on Law Enforcement and Scam Victims

How Defeatism Undermines Individual and Collective Efforts in the Fight Against Scams and Impacts Global Law Enforcement and Justice Systems

Primary Category: Psychology of Scams

Author:
• Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

About This Article

Defeatism is a mindset where individuals or groups believe that failure is inevitable, leading to a lack of effort and a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure. This attitude can spread through society, hindering collective efforts to address significant challenges, such as combatting scams.

In global law enforcement and the justice system, defeatism can result in reduced motivation to pursue criminals, limited international cooperation, and insufficient resources dedicated to fighting scams.

For scam victims, defeatism manifests as a sense of hopelessness, inaction, and resignation, making it difficult for them to recover or seek justice.

SCARS Editorial Team2024-08-27T01:48:51-04:00August 27th, 2024|Categories: • PSYCHOLOGY, • FEATURED ARTICLE, 2024, ARTICLE, Tim McGuinness PhD|Tags: Defeated, Defeatism, Law Enforcement, Psychology of Scams, Scam Victim Recovery, Scam Victims|0 Comments

Europol’s Operation ENDGAME Strikes At Heart Of Cybercrime’s Botnet Universe – 2024

Europol’s Operation ENDGAME Strikes At Heart Of Cybercrime’s Botnet Universe

Europol and Partners Take Down Another Major Botnet Cybercrime Organization

Primary Category: Cybercrime

Authors:
• SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
• Europol

About This Article

Europol’s largest-ever operation against botnets, dubbed Operation Endgame, targeted malware droppers like IcedID, SystemBC, Pikabot, Smokeloader, and Bumblebee. Coordinated from Europol’s headquarters between May 27 and 29, 2024, the operation aimed to disrupt criminal services by arresting high-value targets, taking down criminal infrastructures, and freezing illegal proceeds.

The multinational effort, involving countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States, led to four arrests, 16 location searches, and the takedown of over 100 servers. This operation, supported by Eurojust and various private partners, addressed the complex challenge of international cybercrime, highlighting the critical role of botnets in deploying ransomware.

911 S5 Botnet Dismantled – Another Major Botnet Taken Down By Law Enforcement – 2024

911 S5 Botnet Dismantled – Another Major Botnet Taken Down

Law Enforcement Takes Down Another Major Cybercrime Operation

Primary Category: Law Enforcement

Authors:
• SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
• U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation

About This Article

In a significant international law enforcement operation led by the U.S. Justice Department, the notorious 911 S5 botnet, responsible for infecting over 19 million IP addresses and facilitating large-scale fraud and other crimes, has been dismantled.

The operation resulted in the arrest of YunHe Wang, a Chinese national, who allegedly created and operated the botnet from 2014 to 2022. Wang’s malware compromised millions of residential computers, allowing cybercriminals to commit various offenses, including financial fraud and child exploitation.

Global Law Enforcement Collaboration Takes Down ‘LabHost’ Phishing-As-A-Service Platform – 2024

Global Law Enforcement Collaboration Takes Down ‘LabHost’ Phishing-As-A-Service Platform

The Takedown of the LabHost Platform is a Major Step in Reducing Phishing Scams

Authors:
• SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
• Portions from Europol and UK Metropolitan Police

About This Article

Law enforcement agencies from 19 countries collaborated in a year-long operation to disrupt ‘LabHost,’ one of the world’s largest phishing-as-a-service platforms. Coordinated by Europol, the operation resulted in the compromise of LabHost’s infrastructure and the initial arrest of 37 suspects, with the potential for as many as 1,000 more arrests.

LabHost facilitated phishing attacks on users of hundreds of financial institutions worldwide for a monthly subscription fee. The platform, previously available on the open web, has been shut down following the investigation.

UK Engaged In Massive Crackdown on Fraud – Over 400 Arrests – 2024 [VIDEO]

UK Engaged In Massive Crackdown on Fraud – Over 400 Arrests

Authors:
• SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
• UK National Crime Agency

About This Article

Operation Henhouse, a UK law enforcement/police campaign targeting fraud and scams, resulted in over 400 arrests and £19 million seized across February and March 2024. Coordinated by the National Economic Crime Centre and City of London Police, it involved all UK police forces and agencies like the Financial Conduct Authority and National Crime Agency.

The crackdown aimed to combat the pervasive threat of fraud, which accounts for 40% of UK crime reports and costs £6.8 billion annually. With substantial arrests and disruptions nationwide,

LockBit Ransomware Shut Down By Combined Global Law Enforcement – 2024

LockBit Ransomware Shut Down By Combined Global Law Enforcement

Global Operation Chronos Shuts Down LockBit Ransomware

Cybercrime News

Authors:
• SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
• Europol
• U.S. Department of Justice

About This Article

FBI and Europol reports LockBit as the most deployed ransomware globally, with operations disrupted by law enforcement across ten countries. LockBit, infamous for causing extensive financial damage, saw its criminal activities severely compromised.

The international effort, led by the UK’s National Crime Agency under ‘Operation Cronos’, coordinated by Europol, dismantled LockBit’s infrastructure, including 34 seized servers. Arrests were made in Poland and Ukraine, with warrants issued by French and US authorities. Over 200 cryptocurrency accounts linked to the group were frozen.

SCARS Editorial Team2024-02-21T22:12:44-05:00February 21st, 2024|Categories: • CRIMES & CRIMINALS, 2024, EUROPOL, NEWS, SCARS Institute Editorial Team, U.S. Department of Justice, WORLDWIDE|Tags: EUROPOL, FBI, Law Enforcement, LockBit, NCA, Operation Chronos, Ransomware|0 Comments

Law Enforcement

SCARS Institute West Africa Project with GISF CyberLaw Academy Series for Criminal Justice Professionals at Ghana UENR – 2024

SCARS Institute West Africa Project in Ghana – August 2024

With the help of GISF CyberLaw Academy Series for Criminal Justice Professionals at Ghana UENR

Primary Category: Advocacy and Policy

Authors: • SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. • Portions from Modern Ghana

About This Article

Defeatism and its Impact on Scam Victims and Law Enforcement – 2024

Defeatism and its Impact on Law Enforcement and Scam Victims

How Defeatism Undermines Individual and Collective Efforts in the Fight Against Scams and Impacts Global Law Enforcement and Justice Systems

Primary Category: Psychology of Scams

Author: • Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

About This Article

Europol’s Operation ENDGAME Strikes At Heart Of Cybercrime’s Botnet Universe – 2024

Europol’s Operation ENDGAME Strikes At Heart Of Cybercrime’s Botnet Universe

Europol and Partners Take Down Another Major Botnet Cybercrime Organization

Primary Category: Cybercrime

Authors: • SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. • Europol

About This Article

911 S5 Botnet Dismantled – Another Major Botnet Taken Down By Law Enforcement – 2024

911 S5 Botnet Dismantled – Another Major Botnet Taken Down

Law Enforcement Takes Down Another Major Cybercrime Operation

Primary Category: Law Enforcement

Authors: • SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. • U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation

About This Article

Global Law Enforcement Collaboration Takes Down ‘LabHost’ Phishing-As-A-Service Platform – 2024

Global Law Enforcement Collaboration Takes Down ‘LabHost’ Phishing-As-A-Service Platform

The Takedown of the LabHost Platform is a Major Step in Reducing Phishing Scams

Authors: • SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. • Portions from Europol and UK Metropolitan Police

About This Article

UK Engaged In Massive Crackdown on Fraud – Over 400 Arrests – 2024 [VIDEO]

UK Engaged In Massive Crackdown on Fraud – Over 400 Arrests

Authors: • SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. • UK National Crime Agency

About This Article

LockBit Ransomware Shut Down By Combined Global Law Enforcement – 2024

LockBit Ransomware Shut Down By Combined Global Law Enforcement

Global Operation Chronos Shuts Down LockBit Ransomware

Cybercrime News

Authors: • SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. • Europol • U.S. Department of Justice

About This Article

Authors:
• SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
• Portions from Modern Ghana

Author:
• Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

Authors:
• SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
• Europol

Authors:
• SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
• U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation

Authors:
• SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
• Portions from Europol and UK Metropolitan Police

Authors:
• SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
• UK National Crime Agency

Authors:
• SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
• Europol
• U.S. Department of Justice