ABC News: As NFT scams proliferate online, crypto sleuths are fighting back. “Spend enough time online, and you’re sure to run into scammers who try to steal your money by asking you to confirm your credit card information or sign up for fake PC protection plans. Now, online scams have reached the lucrative world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) — and a group of tech sleuths are fighting back.”
TechCrunch: Scammers snatch up expired domains, vexing Google. “The web is a living thing — ever-evolving, ever-changing. This goes beyond just the content on websites; whole domains can expire and be taken over, allowing corners of the internet to become a little like your hometown: Wait, wasn’t there a Dairy Queen here?”
Mashable: Spiritual hustlers are all over social media. Don’t let them scam you.. “Social media accounts peddling Native-esque wisdom are saturated with imagery such as feathers, sage bundles, abalone shells, dreamcatchers, flutes, and hand drums. Links in those accounts’ bios invite you to participate in sweat lodges, soul healing sessions, medium readings, shamanic circles, and quantum healing. Posts advertise workshops for hundreds of dollars that give you exclusive access to privileged information meant to help on your life’s journey. Hashtags like #medicineman and #medicinewoman offer glimpses of this at play.”
BuzzFeed News: Snake Oil Medicine And Fake Vax Cards Are Among $149 Million In Alleged COVID Fraud. “Forging vaccine cards, passing off fake medicine as the Moderna vaccine, and billing hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent tests are among the criminal activity alleged by the Department of Justice Wednesday as it unveiled a slew of COVID-related fraud charges. The government is charging 21 people across the country in cases totaling $149 million in alleged COVID fraud. Charges include taking kickbacks, exploiting the Telehealth system, and misusing aid from the CARES Act.”
The Register: Cybercriminals do their homework for latest banking scam . “A new social engineering scam is making the rounds, and this one is particularly insidious: It tricks users into sending money to what they think is their own account to reverse a fraudulent charge.”
Mashable: Scammers spoof Amazon Prime Video and trick users into paying fake fees. “We all know those dreaded streaming app screens that pop up on our smart TVs just when we get comfortable on the couch, ready to watch that new latest release. Perhaps it’s an activation screen for that newly downloaded streaming app. Or maybe it’s that dastardly prompt that lets you know the app has internet connection issues. All of us can agree those screens are annoying. However, they’re also turning out to be quite lucrative for scammers.”
Bleeping Computer: Instagram beyond pics: Sexual harassers, crypto crooks, ID thieves. “A platform for everyone to seamlessly share their best moments online, Instagram is slowly turning into a mecca for the undesirables—from sexual harassers to crypto ‘investors’ helping you ‘get rich fast.’ The Gram today has a dark side that goes beyond fancy filters and reels. The network is being actively abused by shady marketers to promote obscene content or by Bitcoin investors with dubious whereabouts.”
Streetsblog NYC: Opinion: Fake Plates are Hiding in Plain Sight on Facebook, Yet Authorities Do Little . “For a certain kind of person, license plates are a pain. If you want to drag race, leave the scene of a crash, avoid bridge tolls, park illegally, or ignore speed cameras, license plates mean you can get busted. That’s where fake temporary tags come in. These paper license plates are almost totally unregulated. The NYPD is well aware of the problem — Det. Thomas Burke appeared on NBC News last year to say that the plates even facilitate drive-by shootings. The Port Authority, according to that report, complained to eBay and Craigslist, asking them to quit selling fake tags. But today, the market has moved to Facebook Marketplace and fellow Meta app Instagram.”
Reuters: Google Sues Alleged Puppy Scammer After Tip From AARP. “Alphabet Inc’s Google on Monday sued an alleged puppy scammer who used its services to sell fake pets, the first of what the company said would be a growing number of lawsuits targeting apparent misuse by its users.”
Seattle Times: Did you receive a text message from yourself? You’re not alone.. “Consumers have struggled with cellphone spam for years, primarily in the form of robocalls with scammers incessantly ringing to leave fraudulent messages about late payments for student loans, audits by the Internal Revenue Service and expired car warranties. Only recently has mobile phone fraud shifted more toward texting, experts said. Spam texts from all sorts of phone numbers — and not just your own — are on the rise. In March, 11.6 billion scam messages were sent on American wireless networks, up 30% from February.”
The Verge: Hackers breached Mailchimp to phish cryptocurrency wallets. “Mailchimp, the veteran email marketing platform, has confirmed that hackers used an internal tool to steal data from more than 100 of its clients — with the data being used to mount phishing attacks on the users of cryptocurrency services. The breach was confirmed to the press by Mailchimp on Monday, but it had come to light over the weekend when users of the Trezor hardware cryptocurrency wallet reported being targeted by sophisticated phishing emails.”
ProPublica: Congressional Chair Asks Google and Apple to Help Stop Fraud Against U.S. Taxpayers on Telegram . “After ProPublica investigations revealed thriving cybermarkets on Telegram where fraudsters buy and sell stolen personal information for unemployment insurance fraud, Rep. James Clyburn is hoping to enlist Apple and Google in the fight.”
Reuters: U.S. FTC accuses Intuit of deceptively advertising free tax filing. “The U.S. Federal Trade Commission asked a court on Monday to issue an order stopping Intuit, the owner of TurboTax tax preparation software, from deceptively advertising free tax filing when it requires many people to pay. In the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the FTC, which enforces antitrust law and laws against deceptive advertising, said it had already started an internal administrative proceeding on the matter.”
Search Engine Journal: Google Removed 7 Million Fake Business Profiles In 2021. “In a report from Google about how it keeps Maps information reliable, the search company reveals it removed seven million fake business profiles in 2021. Additionally, Google prevented tens of millions of fake business profiles from being created, and disabled over a million user accounts belonging to ‘bad actors.’”
Mashable: Crypto scammers are filling inboxes with fake ‘donate to Ukraine’ emails. “Scammers are continuing to weaponize Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine in order to propel their immoral money-making schemes. There have been a slew of scams ranging from fake charity websites hosted on freshly registered domain names to phishing campaigns looking to steal sensitive information from potential donors to Ukraine. Now, new research from email security firm Cyren looks into just how cryptocurrency fraudsters are utilizing email spam for their latest Ukraine-related fraud.”
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