Financial Times: Crypto fraud jumps by a third in UK. “Financial losses involving crypto reported to Action Fraud from October 2021 to September 2022 were £226mn — a 32 per cent increase on the same period a year earlier. The number of reported incidents rose 16 per cent to 10,030.”
El País: Cybercriminals take advantage of Twitter chaos to step up phishing campaigns. “According to the US cybersecurity company Proofpoint, its researchers have observed a considerable increase in phishing campaigns. Specifically, the company said, cybercriminals are using account verification and the new Twitter Blue product as lures to steal Twitter credentials.”
Brussels Times: Influencer advertising on social media to include ‘trust label’ in Belgium. “On Friday, the Belgian e-commerce federation BeCommerce launched a trust label for online safety certifications that are specific to online advertising undertaken by influencers. Influencers will have to comply with European directives and those of the FPS Economy to obtain it.”
Fortune: Scammers are targeting desperate FTX customers by pretending to be the DOJ, promising access to funds. “FTX customers around the world no doubt regret their decision to sign on with the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange. Adding insult to injury, they’re now the targets of scammers pretending to be the U.S. Department of Justice.”
Gizmodo: New York Times Runs Bizarre Softball Article on FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried. “FTX filed for bankruptcy on Friday, leaving reasonable people to wonder how a cryptocurrency platform founded in 2019, which reached a valuation of $32 billion in 2021, could plummet to zero in such a short time. There’s a new piece in the New York Times which gained exclusive access to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, but if you’re looking for answers, you’re not going to find it there.” I was wondering about the NYT article, which has a “What a scamp, boys will be boys” vibe. Gizmodo breaks down why it’s so weird.
CBS News: Janet Yellen says FTX collapse shows cryptocurrencies are ‘risky… even dangerous’ investments. “Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has told CBS News that the spectacular collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which sent shockwaves through the crypto world last week with its bankruptcy filing, should serve as a warning to Americans about investing their money in ‘extremely risky’ financial products traded in a space lacking ‘appropriate supervision and regulation.’”
CoinDesk: Why Is Crypto Tanking: The FTX-Binance Drama Explained. “The world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance reversed course on a plan to bail out competitor FTX in an event that has shocked the crypto industry and is catching the attention of regulators.” This article assumes some knowledge of the cryptocurrency world, but it’s a good general explainer if you’re wondering why two entities called “FTX” and “Binance” are all over the news.
Better Business Bureau: BBB Institute partners with Amazon and Capital One to fight scams. “The BBB Scam Tracker makes it easier for consumers to report scams via mobile or desktop. It includes a new guided questionnaire that makes it quick and easy to report a scam. Consumers can now review and edit their reports before submission, and then share the report with friends and family via social media or email. They also have the option to receive updates about the constantly evolving tactics that scammers use. In addition, an upgraded search function enables consumers to search scams in the tool by URL, email address, phone number and more.”
Cointelegraph: Google still promoting crypto phishing sites, warns Binance boss. “Despite Google’s strict policies on crypto marketing for its ads service, scammers have still been slipping through the cracks over the past few years. At times, scam websites have even been displayed higher than legitimate crypto and blockchain projects.”
FBI: FBI Warns Public to Beware of Tech Support Scammers Targeting Financial Accounts Using Remote Desktop Software. “The Boston Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning that as tech support fraud evolves, the number of people falling victim to the crime is on the rise, and so are financial losses. Investigators are seeing an emerging trend in which tech support scammers are convincing victims that their financial accounts have been compromised and their funds need to be moved so the fraudsters can gain control over the victims’ computers and finances.”
Newswise: Score a discount on Amazon? You might’ve unwittingly paid more. “More than a quarter of vacuum cleaners sold on Amazon have at some point pretended to offer a discount when they had actually just increased the price, according to new research. By pairing a price increase with the introduction of a previously unadvertised ‘list price’ for a product, Amazon signals to shoppers that they are receiving a discount when they actually pay 23% more, on average, for their new vacuum than they would have just a day earlier. Days after the price hike, the price drops and both the list price and misleading discount claim disappear.”
ReviewGeek: How to Avoid Fake Remote Jobs. “While remote work has always been a thing, advances in technology coupled with societal changes that came out of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic have made it more common than ever. While there are obvious benefits to working remotely and great opportunities out there, there are also a lot of scams.”
ProPublica: Authorities Raid Alleged Cyberscam Compounds in Cambodia. “Human traffickers who have forced workers to engage in investment scams that defrauded victims out of millions have been disrupted, at least temporarily. Meanwhile, Apple’s app store has removed an app that frequently facilitated the frauds.”
Snopes: How Max Polyakov Hides His Financial Interest in an International Web of Online Deception . “Simply put, Polyakov sits atop a massive, internationally significant digital empire that incentivizes overtly deceptive advertising, and that allows him and his associates to profit in multiple ways from the scams pushed by that deception. By uncovering the mechanics of this ecosystem in forensic detail, Snopes hopes to highlight the technical, financial, and legal schemes required both to profit from internet scams and — perhaps — to stop their proliferation.”
CBS News: Zelle faces surge in fraud and scams, Senate report finds. “Incidents of fraud and scams are occurring more often on the popular peer-to-peer payment service Zelle, according to a report issued Monday by the office of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, giving the public its first glimpse into the growing problems at Zelle.”
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