Up to 30 percent of romance fraud victims in 2018 are estimated to have been used as money mules. Scammers are using dating sites and apps not only to scout for lovesick men and women before bilking them out of money, but also to recruit ‘money mules’ for laundering funds obtained in illicit activities. According … More FBI warns of romance scams using online daters as money mules
Losses emanating from Business Email Compromise (BEC) and Email Account Compromise (EAC) scams reached nearly US$1.3 billion in 2018, which was nearly double the amount (US$675 million) lost in the year before, according to the annual Internet Crime Report (ICR) by the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The figure is based on over 20,300 BEC/EAC … More Business Email Compromise fraud losses almost doubled last year
More trouble in dark markets? A notorious black-market bazaar announces plans to close up shop on the same day that police announce the arrests of 61 people. Law enforcement from Europe, the United States, and Canada have announced the results of a recent international operation against dozens of people who reportedly sold and bought illicit … More Global police arrest dozens of people in dark web sting
The “evolution” of these markets is making cybercrime easier than ever before. Are you in the market for stolen data? How about some tools to help you steal data or make money by hijacking other people’s computers? Well you’re in luck. It is now easier than ever to engage in cybercrime thanks to “next generation” … More Next Generation Dark Markets? Think Amazon or eBay for criminals
His lawyer claims that the teen did the hacking because he admired Apple and dreamed of landing a job in the company. A 16-year-old Australian teenager has broken into Apple’s internal systems multiple times, making off with 90GB of “secure files” and accessing customer accounts in the process, according to The Age, which cited court proceedings. … More Australian schoolboy hacks into Apple’s network, steals files
Law enforcement and malware research join forces to take down cybercriminals. The primary purpose of malware analysis is to determine how a given piece of malware works, extract IOCs (Indicators of Compromise) and determine potential countermeasures. This work is almost purely technical in nature: it focuses on binary files and their properties. Results from malware analysis are … More Trends 2018: Doing time for cybercrime
In 2017, the victims of BEC fraud were stung for $676 million, almost double the loss totals reported in the previous year. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received a record-high 301,000 complaints of internet-facilitated fraud and other cybercrimes in 2017, with reported losses adding up to $1.42 billion. Pegged at over $676 million, … More Losses from Business Email Compromise scams rising fast and furious
