The job posts do not immediately raise alarms, even though they’re clearly not for tutoring or babysitting. “Female candidates are a PRIORITY, even if you aren’t from US, if you do not have a clear accent please feel free to inquire,” a public Telegram channel post from 15 December. “INEXPERIENCED people are OKAY, we can train you from scratch, but we expect you to absorb information and take in what you are learning.” Those who are interested are expected to be available from 12 pm EST to 6
fraud (35)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said fraudsters in 2025 bilked Americans out of more than $333 million with ruses perpetrated by using Bitcoin ATM machines (BTM), a marked uptick over previous years as the popularity of cryptocurrencies continues to grow.
A BTM, or Bitcoin ATM, is an automated kiosk that allows individuals to buy or sell bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies using cash or debit cards. These machines function much like traditional ATMs, but instead of dispensing cash, they faci
New England is known for lobster. But lately, it is known for the lobsters that went missing. Thieves allegedly stole a truckload of lobster valued at $400,000 from a Massachusetts facility earlier in December. The scheme was complex, according to Dylan Rexing, chief executive of Rexing Companies, the logistics firm that was coordinating the shipment.
The first part allegedly involved a phishing scam, and not of the seafood kind. According to Rexing, a culprit ever-so-slightly altered the em
Consumers are urged to exercise caution this Christmas shopping season, as new research from McAfee Labs indicates a significant increase in brand impersonation by cybercriminals. The Tech giants Apple, Nintendo, and Samsung, alongside luxury labels like Coach, Dior, and Gucci, are among the most frequently faked brands targeted by scammers. McAfee’s analysis of festive shopping scams is based on real-world web activity data collected between October and November 2025, specifically focusing o
As consumers took advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, historical analysis from TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) and found that 4.6% of attempted ecommerce transactions globally were suspected of being digital fraud from this Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday. Based on insights from TransUnion’s intelligence network, TransUnion found that the global suspected Digital Fraud rate “was down from 6.0% during the same period in 2023.”[1]
For attempted ecommerce transactions where the consumer was in t
This past week, Red Sky Alliance conducted a webinar detailing the US Secret Service take down of a SIM related espionage campaign during a recent United Nations session in New York City. Well, the use of SIM farms and cards are also occurring in other parts of the World. On 10 October 2025, in Latvia, the arrests of five cyber-criminals of Latvian nationality and the seizure of infrastructure were conducted. The infrastructure was used to enable crimes against thousands of victims across Eur
A transnational operation involving 14 African countries has dismantled a large-scale digital scamming network, resulting in 260 arrests and the seizure of 1,235 electronic devices. The Interpol-led effort, named Operation Contender 3.0, marks the third wave of arrests against fraudsters and romance scammers in Africa following operations in 2021 and 2024. This third crackdown was conducted between July 28 and August 11, 2025. It focused on romance scams, where perpetrators build online relat
The education sector is haunted by a significant fraud problem where fake students impersonate celebrities and employ other identity techniques to steal resources and money from legitimate students. While sorting through student submission applications, the name Brad Pitt appears. Admission office employees believe it must be a joke or an accident, but soon they find another familiar-looking celebrity name. It becomes clear that the fraudulent technique, named "ghost students," is highly inten
A third-party data breach has compromised the personal information of more than 200,000 Harbin Clinic patients. The breach stems from a cyber-attack in July 2024 targeting Nationwide Recovery Services (NRS), a debt collection agency contracted by the Georgia-based healthcare provider. The incident came to light following unusual activity on NRS systems, which led to a network outage. Investigations revealed that threat actors accessed the NRS network between July 5 and 11, 2024, during which
In a significant victory against cybercrime, US and Dutch law enforcement agencies have dismantled 39 domains and their associated servers to disrupt a Pakistan-based network of online marketplaces selling phishing and fraud-enabling tools. The coordinated effort was titled Operation Heart Blocker, which targeted a cybercriminal group known as Saim Raza, also operating under the name HeartSender.
According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the seized domains actively facilitate the sale of
About a year ago, I rented an AirBnB house. Once I signed up, I realized the point of contact was named “China.” Well, my heart sank until I realized that China was her name. Still unconvinced, I have someone actually “look” at the property and see if it was real. It was, whew…..and “China” turned out to be a lovely person. I guess parents name their children other names than Susie, Patty and Cathy…. Ok, ok - I’m showing my age. But caution should still be employed for any AirBnB rental tr
Crypto took a major hit last year with losses exceeding $5.6 billion, mainly driven by investment fraud, tech support scams, and social engineering via government impersonation. Latest findings published by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), the product of almost 70,000 reports, marks this 45% rise as a new record high for the industry. The US alone accounts for $4.8 billion of these reported cases, followed by the Cayman Islands, Mexico, Canada, the UK, India, and Australia.
(So
The US government announced on 05 June 2024 that it had filed a civil forfeiture action to recover more than $5.3 million lost by a Massachusetts workers union in a business email compromise (BEC) scam. The unnamed union in Dorchester lost the money in January 2023 when cybercriminals sent it an email that appeared to come from a trusted investment consulting firm. The scammers used a spoofed email address to trick the workers union into believing that the investment consulting firm was reque
Spanish police have arrested more than 100 people who stole €850,000 (more than $900,000 USD) through WhatsApp by pretending to be their victims’ family members in urgent need of help.
According to a statement by the Guardia Civil, one of Spain's police forces, the suspects, men and women aged between 20 and 60, were arrested from February to April in seven Spanish provinces. All were charged with fraud, money laundering, and being part of a criminal organization.
To trick their victims, the sc
With the automotive industry facing an unprecedented surge in loan fraud, dealerships are finding themselves at the front lines of a growing battle against sophisticated crime syndicates. In the early months of 2023, the creation of manufactured identities allowed fraudsters access to a staggering $1.8 billion in automotive loan credit, a significant leap from $869 million in the same timeframe in 2021. This escalation has not only highlighted the evolving threat landscape but has also prompte
Valentine's Day is a time when many people feel particularly vulnerable, but others also feel generous and giving. This makes it the perfect time for cybercriminals and fraudsters to operate.
The Cyber Helpline https://www.lighthousevictimcare.org/organisation/the-cyber-helpline/, a UK charity led by volunteers and staff from the cybersecurity industry, has expanded to the USA to support those experiencing cybercrime and online harm. The charity expects a considerable increase in online relatio
In the secretive world of venture capital and startups, information means access and it means money. And so, it is rare that we see closely-guarded information the financials, the emails, the cap table all picked apart and challenged for anyone who chooses to pay attention. It is rare we hear a startup’s executives give unadulterated answers to questions on the record, under oath laying out how things really went under the hood. We only get that kind of a look at a private company when things
Cyber security refers to every aspect of protecting a company or organization as well as its employees and assets from online threats. For all of us in animal agriculture, cybersecurity is no longer just about avoiding those sketchy phishing emails or resetting our passwords. It’s about being aware of our online presence and how that may make us vulnerable to individuals or groups looking to gain access to sensitive information with the intent to target our farms or companies.[1]
Recently, the
The phishing-as-a-service platform 16shop was taken down on 8 August as part of a global investigation led by Interpol. Law enforcement arrested a 21-year-old Indonesian man accused of administering the platform, along with two other individuals involved in its operation: one in Indonesia and one in Japan. The police also confiscated electronic devices and several luxury items belonging to the suspects.
According to a report from cybersecurity firm Group-IB, which was involved in the takedown,
A recent FBI report smishing attempts, which send text messages purporting to be from employees or company leadership to induce individuals to reveal personal information. Actors conducting this scheme typically try to elicit financial information, personal identifiable information (PII), credentials, or details about a company and/or its employees. The criminal threat actors in these instances are attempting to solicit and/or steal various types of information which could be used for financia
