How The FBI Nailed Nigerian Influencer For BEC Fraud

Inside details into the FBI’s investigation of Abbas Ramon Olorunwa also known as HushPuppi were released in a 28-page affidavit signed by Special Agent Andrew Innocenti late last week. The investigation reveals how the outsized Nigerian Instagram influencer conspired with other scammers all over the world to execute huge BEC attacks and redirecting hefty payments […]

Fraudster Sentenced To 21 Years for CPN Scheme

A San Fernando Valley man was sentenced today to 259 months in federal prison for overseeing a long-running $3.3 million credit card, loan and real estate fraud scheme using stolen identities, primarily that of children. The scheme involved using Credit Privacy Numbers (CPN’s) that were used to create synthetic identities with falsified information. Turhan Lemont […]

Mortgage Fraudster Switches To Auto Fraud After Prison

Who says fraudsters can’t change their ways? They can, and that is exactly what George Hajati, 41, of Cromwell did after he was released from prison in 2016. According to court documents and statements made in court, Hajati was convicted of federal conspiracy and fraud offenses related to a Hartford-area mortgage fraud scheme that defrauded […]

Wave Of Unemployment Fraud Sweeps Over US States

Unemployment fraud is trending as the most systemic fraud of the moment. It continues growing each day, even while unemployment rates begin to dip as states end their lockdown. Each day, more and more states are finally discovering and alerting that they have fallen victim to international and domestic scammers. One by one, states are […]

National Guard Called To Fight Unemployment Fraud

Washington State is buried in Unemployment Fraud, and their backlog of suspicious cases is growing by the day. So who do they call? The National Guard of course. The state Employment Security Department said it’s bringing in the National Guard to help clear the huge backlog unemployment claims. Specifically, the guardsmen will become Stand-In Fraud […]

Fraudsters Swipe Donald Trumps Black Card

Donald Trump’s invite only American Express Black Card was swiped and posted on the internet by fraudsters last weekend. According to the Credit Shifu, his credit card information was allegedly leaked online by the hacker group Anonymous. They question that claim however after investigating further. I caught wind of the crazy story from Karisse Hendrick , a popular […]

Walmart Executive Charged in Disgraceful PPP Loan Fraud

A project manager employed by a Walmart was charged in a complaint unsealed Wednesday for allegedly filing fraudulent bank loan applications seeking more than $8 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Loans. Benjamin Hayford, 32, of Centerton, Arkansas was was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed in the Northern District of Oklahoma with wire fraud, […]

FBI Reports On Tidal Wave of COVID19 Fraud Cases in 2020

Calvin Shivers, the Assistant Director of Investigations for the FBI, delivered a shocking report to Congress yesterday – reported fraud could reach the highest level in history due to the pandemic. The Internet Crime Center has already received almost as many fraud reports for 2020 (320,000), as they have for the entirety of 2019 (400,00). […]

2 Men Opened 7,000 Fraud Cards, Earn 790k In Points

Two guys got extra greedy and finally got nabbed for a sophisticated fraud scheme that netted them a total of 7,000 cards and a truckload of reward points. It was a cards for point scheme unlike any other and netted the pair over $8 million in points. Ahron Lev and Timothy Gibson were indicated with […]

Michigan Fraud Blocks 340k Unemployment Claims

In recent news, the state of Michigan has reportedly blocked 340,000 unemployment accounts while it investigates suspected fraud by imposters. A whopping 25% of all claims have been halted so the state can perform additional fraud checks on the identity of the people that have submitted claims. This comes on the heels of many other […]

Washington Unemployment Fraud Balloons to $1 Billion

Senator Ann Rivers was briefed today by ESD officials in Washington State who advised her that the unemployment fraud case involving Nigerian fraud rings was now approaching close to $1 billion dollars. The epic and largest case of unemployment fraud was originally suspected to be closer to $350 million, however, over the past week, it […]

Digging Into The Patterns of Unemployment Fraud In Data

It’s hard to piece together exactly what is happening with the rash of unemployment fraud claims. It’s all over the news. And just this week Washington State reported that their new unemployment filings dropped 68% when they implemented fraud controls. It’s hard to believe that fraud controls could have such an immediate and substantial impact […]

Guy Drops BackPack With 1 Million Stolen Identities In It

You can stuff a lot in a backpack these days. But you won’t believe this story. Authorities in Trussville Alabama are on the lookout for a man named Fred Collins Jr. Police officers were issuing a narcotics search warrant for a known drug location, when they spotted Fred Collins engaged in suspicious activity. While ordering […]

Not so fast. State Claws Back $300M From Fraudsters

Washington State has recovered over $300 million in funds that were stolen by fraudsters filing fraudulent unemployment claims. Employment Security Department Commissioner Suzi LeVine said that she could not yet reveal the precise amount that was paid in fraudulent claims, but said that the initial recovery — including $50 million set to be returned Thursday […]

Professional Refunders Are Fraud Hitmen For Hire

If you don’t have the nerve to lie to online merchants about a package you “never received” – don’t worry. Friendly fraud hitmen are standing by to serve you. For a small fee of course. Professional refunders are setting up shop and offering to help you get your money back for orders you placed online, […]

Rich Movie Exec Gets Fraud PPP Loan, Buys Mansion

A rich Hollywood executive has resorted to fraud to fund his lavish lifestyle leaving a trail of victims in his wake. Those victims include investment firms like Blackrock and US Taxpayers who footed the bill for sham Paycheck Protection loans that he received. Today. William Sadleir, the former chairman, and chief executive officer of Aviron […]

$20 Million Whopper of A PPP Fraud Discovered

The fraud perpetrated against the PPP loan programming is mounting daily. There have been 5 massive cases uncovered in the last 10 days. The DOJ announced today the arrest of MUGE MA, a/k/a “Hummer Mars,” a Chinese national residing in Manhattan, for a fraudulent scheme to obtain over $20 million in Government-guaranteed loans designed to […]

Ryanair Threatens Fraud Blacklisting for Chargebacks

The Daily Mirror reports that Ryanair is threatening to blacklist customers that use chargebacks to get refunds. The report says that the low-cost carrier has been caught telling customers that chargeback is a ‘fraudulent’ scheme, after warning them it could take up to a year for holiday refunds to be processed. Angry customers have been […]

“Scattered Canary” Named In Unemployment Fraud Scheme

Investigators are on the hunt for Nigerian fraudsters that have been targeting the nation’s unemployment offices. Based on an article that appeared today, researchers believe that they may have located one of the groups responsible. Investigators believe a Nigerian fraud ring called “Scattered Canary”, used the IRS and state unemployment websites to file hundreds of […]

Another $5M PPP Fraud. It Happens Every Day Now.

U.S. federal prosecutors charged a Texas man on Tuesday with fraudulently seeking $5 million in loans from an emergency program established to ease the economic strain caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Prosecutors allege in a criminal complaint that Samuel Yates, 32, of Maud, Texas, sought millions of dollars in Small Business Administration-guaranteed loans from two […]