Hello from FrankonFraud, the newsletter that brings breaking fraud intel right to your inbox.

This week’s top stories.

• Binance never filed a single SAR.

• Fraudsters are targeting New Jersey.

• Verafin reported business wire fraud doubled

• Oregon Unemployment Fraud Skyrockets

• “I’m Real” scam video worked on the victim.

• Attorney targeted by AI Scam

• The OCC Hired An Imposter

• SBF Gets a Fishy Haircut

• New Bank Freeze Fraud Scheme Emerges

• Brett Johnson torches a major fraud channel

• $120K BMW Stolen in 30 Seconds

It never gets old in fraud; it just gets more bizarre 🤡 by the week. In fact, it seems to be kicking into overdrive lately.

As one fraudster said in a video I watched this week, “These days, everyone is finessing everyone; that’s why you can’t trust anyone anymore.”

How true that is.

I’m Real Honey. I’m Real. This DeepFake Is So Fake It Actually Scares Me

It’s hard to believe the video below convinced a victim that a romance scammer was real, but it did.

The video is so strangely fake that it’s scary, 🫢 giving you the feeling that people can believe anything in our disconnected and weird new world.

Perhaps weirdly, it reminded me of the fairy turning Pinocchio into a real boy and how he exclaims, “I’m real, I’m real!” except this time it’s the scammer amazed that they made their catfish persona real.

The scammer (presumably from Nigeria based on the accent) used Staff Sgt Sherri Vlastuin's photos to pull off a $30,000 crypto scam.

Check out the video below 👇️.

I think it proves two things:

1. Scammers are using talking photos to pull off deep fakes.

2. The deepfakes don’t have to be that good to work.

Click to Watch

Screaming Black Friday Fraudster Specials!

Fraudsters gotta make money too and Black Friday is also a time to get great deals on fraud stuff.

Check out some of the better Black Friday deals I found on Telegram. Do you want stolen cards, checks, or fraudulently loaded gift cards at bargain prices? These Black Friday deals are for you! 🕺 

New Jersey Is Getting Clobbered By Fraudsters

It’s a race against time to get free government money from New Jersey’s Anchor Benefit Program and no one is hustling harder than fraudsters.

The program gives people who rented or owned a home in New Jersey during the pandemic up to $2,500.

And fraudsters love the program, which appears to have, let’s just say, very LOOSE fraud controls.

Click on This Link Or Image Below To Read More

Greedy Criminals- Binance Never Filed A Single SAR Ever

Samuel Lim was the Chief Compliance Officer of Binance, but he was anything but that. Let’s call him the Anti-Compliance Officer.

While Binance operated in the US, they were required to file SARs but never did. The DOJ said they neglected to file over 100,000 SARs during a five-year period.

And it was because Lim told them not to. He told staff at Binance that the CEO’s policy was “not to report such activity”.

Now as part of a criminal settlement, the company is required to review every single transaction from 2018 through 2022 and file hundreds and thousands of SAR’s that they missed.

They are going to need an army of AML and fraud experts to comply with that order.

Click This Link Or Image Below to Read More

Gone in 60 30 Seconds. Watch This Relay Attack on a $120K Luxe BMW

Watch this $120k BMW X6 get stolen within 30 seconds using a basic relay attack.

With a relay attack, criminals bypass keyless entry security by extending the signal of the car key inside the house.

These two guys obviously know exactly what they are doing - swiping this car almost instantly!

Cutting Edge Bank Freeze Fraud Scheme Emerges in Thailand

This is a wild scheme that is happening in Thailand - a supercharged imposter technique that could find it’s way to US consumers eventually.

The scammers, posing as bank representatives, initiate a call and successfully freeze the mobile banking applications of the unsuspecting victim. (Now this where it gets fuzzy how the scammers are able to do it, but presumably it must be some sort of malware on the device).

Displaying a service unavailable message on two banking apps, the fraudsters then dropped a bombshell, claiming the victim was embroiled in a money-laundering case, and their account was being frozen as part of an ongoing police investigation.

Click link to read more about this scam

The OCC Hired A Fraud - Fake Resumes and A DUI

In March, the OCC tapped Prashant Kumar Bhardwaj as the first person to lead it’s newly created Office Of Financial Technology.

He had an impressive resume with nearly 30 years of experience and they paid him handsomely - $303,400 annual salary and a signing bonus.

On the surface, he seemed very qualified having held senior positions at banks and major consulting firms like Accenture.

The only problem was that his resume was full of lies and Bhardwaj was even convicted of a DUI shortly after getting the position.

Click here to read full article

Brett Johnson Torches A Major Fraud Channel, High Drama Ensues

Some high drama in the world of Telegram fraud channels this week. Brett Johnson, exposed members of Shark Tank, an exclusive invite only fraud channel, of scamming members of the channel.

Within an hour of exposing it, Shark Tank membership went from 10,200 to 2,800, a 75% drop and he wasn’t done.

By the time all was said and done, the channel was torched, 2 member were arrested, and Brett became the subject of rap videos like this 👇️ 

As for impact, Brett was doxxed and threatened with murder, firebombs and they even threatened his family.

Brett will release and explosive Podcast this week where he will release a “bombshell” about the group.

Business Wire Fraud Has Doubled to 63 Basis Points

Verafin analyzed data across 2400 financial institutions and 575M counterparties and found that wire fraud

Basis points for business wire fraud attempts by value doubled from 31 in 2021 to 67 in 2023

Fishy SBF Reduced To Trading Mackerel For A Haircut

One of the most notorious fraudsters of this era, Sam Bankman Fried has been reduced to stockpiling and trading mackerel for services in prison.

Poor guy.

“Macks” are a popular currency in New York prison system since 2004 after cigarettes were banned, sources told the Journal in 2008.

In a recent report, a source told The Wall Street Journal that SBF traded some pouches of macks, as they are known, to a fellow inmate for a haircut of his signature mop-top ahead of his trial.

“My Son Called. He Was Crying”. How This Attorney Was Targeted By AI Scam

Philadelphia attorney Gary Schildhorn told a Senate panel Thursday about his story of an attempted scam against him where artificial intelligence spoofed his son’s voice.

Thanks to Jonathan Frost for posting this on LinkedIn.

@cspanofficial

Philadelphia attorney Gary Schildhorn told a Senate panel Thursday about his story of an attempted scam against him where his son’s voice ... See more

Thanks for reading my weekly newsletter and staying informed of breaking fraud intel as it happens.

I hope you have a fantastic week!

FrankonFraud