Hello guys 👋

What a week in scam crackdowns! Both Thailand and Vietnam have closed down tens and millions of bank accounts linked to scams, and the US government took aim at 19 massive scam compounds with sweeping sanctions.

Let’s get to the top stories of the week!

Fraud News Roundup 🗞️

• Truly Sorry? - After years of claiming it wasn’t fraud, Charlie Javice now says she is truly sorry to Chase, but also said it’s not really only a $58 impact to the bank since they have so much money, so it’s not a big deal.

• Mortgage Fraud Case Falls Apart - Lisa Cook is bringing the receipts, proving she never committed mortgage fraud against lenders.

• Fifth Third’s $200 Million Fraud - 20 banks including Chase, Barclays and 5th Third, as well as 25,000 other creditors are roiling from what is said to be a massive floorplan fraud at Tricolor Auto. Fifth Third CEO indicated that the collateral used to secure their loans was “corrupted” and they alone will lose $200 million or more.

• 13 Acres A Month in Scamland- Thats the shocking statistic of how much land in Myanmar is being developed for scam compounds every single month.

• Thai Banks Massive Freeze - In a shocking move, The Thai Government has frozen 3 million bank accounts linked to online scams. The freeze targets accounts with unusual patterns, such as those opened recently with minimal transactions or linked to suspicious international transfers.

• Massive Export Of China’s “Great Firewall” Exposed- China is exporting its technology to Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Myanmar, and other countries to establish sophisticated systems of internet censorship and surveillance across the world.

• Tinder Swindler Justice - The notorious Tinder Swindler has been arrested as millions cheer the news.

• Huge Sim Fraud Operation - South Korean uncovers a major operation using 11,000 Ghost Sims registered with passports of people who had traveled there recently.

• Miami Going Wild Taking On Bust Outs - Law Enforcement is going all in and has arrested yet another bust-out fraudster this week, who accumulated $650k in cars in a month.

• It Worked! - A fraudster was able to escape prison by forging his own get-out-of-jail letter, which was good enough that it tricked the court into approving his release.

• Home Depot Crime Spree - A credit card application fraud scheme that targeted Home Depot with shell companies and straw owners resulted in over $20 million in losses.

• Mind Blowing 1000% Increase - Job scammers are loving life in the US as unemployment continues to rise. A new report reveals the fraud has spiked over 1000% in the last 12 months.

• They’re Moving! - The UN is warning that Pig Butchering operations are moving to the island of East Timor to avoid detection.

• Swift Doubles Detection With AI - Here is some good news. Swift says their new AI doubled detection of cross border payment fraud in a test with 13 banks and 10 million transactions.

• Got What It Takes? - Fraud sleuths, can you distinguish between an AI deepfake voice and a real voice? Take the challenge and see if you’re an AI fraud superstar.

• Evil Athena Bitcoin Machines - The Attorney General says 93% of Athena’s ATM deposits were linked to fraud, targeting mostly elderly victims so he is taking legal action.

• She Confronts Her Scammer - Watch this elderly lady confront her romance scammer who took $60,000 from her.

• Scams in Paradise - It’s hard to believe this check scam actually works, but in Hawaii victims are actually cashing checks for strangers at the ATM.

Most AI Chatbots Will Help Scammers Defraud Victims

A new shocking Reuters study indicates that every major AI companies Chatbots will help scammers write phishing emails with a little prodding.

It’s getting ridiculous how easily AI is manipulated despite “safeguards.”

Holy Smokes. Vietnam Shuts Down 85,000,000 Bank Accounts To Stop Fraud

Vietnamese Banks just closed 43% of the bank accounts in the country to cut back on fraud and money muling.

Those 85 million bank accounts have not been biometrically authenticated or have been 'frozen' for a long time, and banks are now deleting them en masse. Banks suspect that sleeper accounts and mules will be closed in this dragnet approach.

North Korean Hackers Use ChatGPT To Create Near Perfect Deepfake Military ID’s

North Korean hackers just got caught using ChatGPT to forge South Korean military IDs in a sophisticated cyberattack.

The group called “Kimsuky Group” created fake government employee ID cards that were so convincing they achieved a 98% authenticity score on deepfake detection tools and passed all the checks.

Its only a matter of time before they use these tools to create near perfect consumer ID documents.

The FBI Says Block These IP Addresses To Thwart SalesForce Attacks

The FBI just released an alert to organizations warning them to block certain IP addresses that have been linked to the SalesForce data breaches that are hitting companies all over the US.

Fired Security Chief Says Up To 500,000 Accounts Compromised Daily At WhatsApp

Another whistleblower at Meta says he was fired after he reported significant problems with Cybersecurity at the company.

On The Run: FBI Hunts Down $34 Million Loan Fraudster From Jamaica

She’s on the run with a mountain of money. The FBI is looking for Jamaican fugitive Elaine Angene Escoe for submitting 90 applications and obtaining over $31 million in proceeds for COVID loans.

She failed to show up for court and is deemed a flight risk!

These Impersonation Scams Are Getting More Scary 😨

The trend in impersonation scams is moving more and more to the darkside. Check out these text messages that are trending online that are sending people into a panic.

US Puts Bullseye On 19 Asian Scam Centers With Sweeping Sanctions

The Treasury Department has sanctioned 19 Pig Butchering scam centers across Myanmar and Cambodia including the famous Golden Sun Sky Casino in Sihanoukville and the Heng He Casino complex.

These centers are often protected by local corrupt armies but the hammer is coming down on them now.

Employee Unplugs Crypto ATM Machine And Stops Fraud In Progress

In just a single week, an alert fraud fighting employee of Stinker Store stopped two different elderly customers from losing their life savings.

He simply unplugged the ATM and called the Police. This guy is a genius!

With MasterCard, You Can Use Your Face and Phone To Get Cash At The ATM

Mastercard is rolling out a new way to get cash from ATMs using just your phone and its built-in biometric facial recognition, eliminating the need for physical cards and PIN numbers.

Working with partners, the new technology allows users to verify their identity through their phone's built-in security features before tapping it on the ATM to withdraw money. No card or PIN number needed anymore!

Texas Fraud Spike Last Week Has People Panicking About Unemployment Rates

It’s deja vu all over again - ID Thieves are attacking Texas, trying to get new unemployment benefits linked to the July floods.

A big jump in Texas unemployment claims that sent financial markets into a tailspin last Thursday turned out to be the work of scammers trying to steal benefits.

The fake filings pushed national jobless claims to a four-year high of 263,000, sparking fears about the economy's health before officials discovered the real cause.

The YouTubers Fighting Millions Of Scammers

Who is a Kitboga fan like me? This is a treat here to go behind the scenes as he sits down with other scam baiters and goes behind the scenes 👇️ 

That’s all that I have for you this week. Hope you have a great week fighting fraud, as always.

FrankonFraud