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Fraud Report January 30, 2025
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WSJ: China works with SE Asia companies to take out scam compounds
Fraud Report January 23, 2025
We’re falling behind in the fight against fraud. Though there are far more prosecutions now, fraud continues to be a growing problem. Over the last ten years fraud has really taken off.
FTC numbers of complaints and losses
2013: over 1 million; $1.6 billion
2023: 2.6 million; $10 billion
IC3 numbers of complaints and reported losses
2013: 262,813; $781,800,000
2023: 880,418; $12.5 billion
Three things I’ve learned as a lawyer. Not all, always, but surely mainly true.
- Facts are stubborn things
- The lawyer on the other side isn’t evil (even if their client is)
- Juries make good decisions
Fraud Report January 16, 2025
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Seven years of the Fraud Report. It’s hard to believe that we are beginning our eight year.
Warning!! Obviously many in Southern California are now homeless. So rental scams are likely to be rampant there. Here is my BBB study on this topic.
UK looking at experiences of fraud victims government releases study
Fraud Report January 9, 2025
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US Army solider arrested on claims he sold stolen ATT&T and Verizon phone records
Johnny Depp warns that public that AI scams are running ads pretending to be from him
Fraud Report January 2, 2025
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Nigeria arrests nearly 800 people from crypto romance fraud ring operating from office tower
- 148 Chinese, 40 Filipinos, 1 Pakistani, 1 Indonesian, rest Nigerian
- Used WhatsApp accounts tied to German and Italian phone numbers
Major hack by China gets access to computer systems at the US Treasury Department
Fraud Report December 19, 2024
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A scam by any other name: Scammers building relationships onlie and then encouraging victims to put money into a crypto account, where it supposedly appreciates but can never be withdrawn, may be the most common fraud in the world right now. Scammers call it pig butchering, and some enforcement agencies have followed suit. But now Interpol urges use of “romance baiting” instead. The Fraud Report will continue to use the term crypto romance fraud. What do you think?
Nigeria arrests 792 for crypto romance fraud; man were from China
Consumer Reports: Scams impersonating banks are becoming increasingly common, and how they work
Fraud Report December 12, 2024
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New FTC data spotlight report shows job scams up very sharply
- Complaints tripled from 2020 to 2023
- First half of 2024 up sharply; losses of $220 million
- These “jobs” often involve tasks like clicking on websites
- Initial contacts usually by text
- Have victims send crypto
WSJ: Brian Kregs and his fight against hackers
Indiana: Man in China indicted for malware that hacked tens of thousands of firewalls
Should we deport scammers and those who knowingly help them? There are many people present in the US who are integrally involved in scam operations. If they have overstayed a student visa or are convicted of fraud should they be deported after serving their sentences? Homeland Security tells me that policies charge ten years or more ago, and that these people are now allowed to stay in the US.
Baker Fraud Report December 5, 2024
China hacks telecom companies worldwide
Germany busts huge online shopping fraud operation; seizes 50 servers across Europe, arrests two men
Fraud Report November 27, 2024
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BBB updates my study dealing with online shopping fraud
- BBB complaints nearly doubled between 2021 and 2023
- Losses reported to the FTC in 2023 were $400 million
- Complaints have declined in Canada