Scam
California man steals $50 million using fake investment sites, gets 7 years
A 59-year-old man from Irvine, California, was sentenced to 87 months in prison for his involvement in an investor fraud ring that stole $50 million between 2012 and October 2020. Allen Giltman and other fraudsters used over 150 fraudulent sites impersonating financial institutions that advertised various investment opportunities (primarily certificates of deposit with higher than […]
Google Chrome uses AI to analyze pages in new scam detection feature
Google is using artificial intelligence to power a new Chrome scam protection feature that analyzes brands and the intent of pages as you browse the web. As spotted by Leo on X, a new flag in Chrome Canary enables a feature called “Client Side Detection Brand and Intent for Scam Detection” that uses an LLM, or Large Language […]
Interpol replaces dehumanizing “Pig Butchering” term with “Romance Baiting”
Interpol calls on the cybersecurity community, law enforcement, and the media to stop using the term “Pig Butchering” when referring to online relationship and investment scams, as it unnecessarily shames the victims impacted by these fraud campaigns. The term “pig butchering” comes from how scammers perform social engineering scams where the victims are described as […]
FTC warns of online task job scams hooking victims like gambling
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns about a significant rise in gambling-like online job scams, known as “task scams,” that draw people into earning cash through repetitive tasks, with the promises of earning more if they deposit their own money. Although this type of scam was nearly non-existent in 2020, with the FTC receiving zero […]
Spain busts voice phishing ring for defrauding 10,000 bank customers
The Spanish police, working with colleagues in Peru, conducted a simultaneous crackdown on a large-scale voice phishing (vishing) scam ring in the two countries, arresting 83 individuals. Thirty-five of the arrested people were located across Spain, including in Madrid, Barcelona, Mallorca, Salamanca, and Vigo, and another 48 were arrested in Peru. The leader of the […]
FBI shares tips on how to tackle AI-powered fraud schemes
The FBI warns that scammers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to improve the quality and effectiveness of their online fraud schemes, ranging from romance and investment scams to job hiring schemes. “The FBI is warning the public that criminals exploit generative artificial intelligence (AI) to commit fraud on a larger scale which increases the believability […]
Scammers target UK senior citizens with Winter Fuel Payment texts
As the winter season kicks in, scammers are not missing the chance to target senior British residents with bogus “winter heating allowance” and “cost of living support” scam texts. The scam campaign is opportunistic given the UK government’s recent controversial stance on cutting winter fuel payments from approximately 10 million pensioners across Britain. Lookalike GOV.UK pages Scammers […]
Over a thousand online shops hacked to show fake product listings
A phishing campaign dubbed ‘Phish n’ Ships’ has been underway since at least 2019, infecting over a thousand legitimate online stores to promote fake product listings for hard-to-find items. Unsuspecting users clicking on those products are redirected to a network of hundreds of fake web stores that steal their personal details and money without shipping […]
‘Pig butchering’ trading apps found on Google Play, App Store
Fake trading apps on Google Play and Apple’s App Store lure victims into “pig butchering” scams that have a global reach. The apps have been removed from the official Android and iOS stores after accumulating several thousand downloads, say researcher at cybersecurity company Group-IB, who discovered the fraud. Pig butchering is the name of a scam […]
Suspects behind $230 million cryptocurrency theft arrested in Miami
Two suspects were arrested in Miami this week and charged with conspiracy to steal and launder over $230 million in cryptocurrency using crypto exchanges and mixing services. The two defendants, 20-year-old Malone Lam (aka “Greavys,” “Anne Hathaway,” and “$$$”) and 21-year-old Jeandiel Serrano (aka “Box,” “VersaceGod,” and “@SkidStar”) were arrested Wednesday night by FBI agents and appeared […]