Good Morning, Fraud Crew 👋 

Did you see this depressing and grim article? Despite everything being done to combat Pig Butchering, scam centers like KK Park in Myanmar have doubled in size - now estimated to be 100,000 in the country alone! Yikes.

With that, let’s get to the top stories this week

Fraud News Roundup 🗞️ 

• Ominous ID Theft Stat - The NICB projects that ID Theft losses in Insurance fraud will increase by 49% before the end of the year. They have seen a noticeable spike in the use of stolen identities this year. Read More

• 61% of Companies Hit by Insider Breaches - Insider breaches are rampant, as a new study suggests that most companies have suffered a breach in the last two years. Read More

• Singapore Warns Meta - That if they don’t stop government impersonation scams on their platform that they will get fined. The government is sick of Meta doing absolutely nothing. Aren’t we all? Read More

• Sextortion Scammers Automated Surveillance Tool - A new, dangerous malware has been released that identifies when a victim visits an NSFW website, takes screenshots of the site, and takes photos of the victim through the webcam. Read More

• Cheating Break During Summer - A new report shows that ChatGPT usage plummets in summer when students are on break and don’t need to cheat. Read More

• UK Banks Under Fire For Refunds - A slew of UK banks are dealing with a massive $200 million Ponzi scheme, and customers are screaming because banks are not refunding them fast enough. Read More

• Another Miami Bust Out Fraud - They just keep coming every week. Another woman in Miami was arrested for Bustout fraud after she amassed half a million dollars in RVs, watercraft, and luxury vehicles. Read More 

• Bank’s Regulatory Penalties Up 417% - It's a banner year for fines against banks globally, as $1.29 billion in fines were levied against banks. Read More

• Grok AI Exploited By Scammers - Threat actors are exploiting Grok by hiding links in a technique called “Grokking” to expose malicious advertisements to millions of people. Read More

• Astronaut Stranded In Space - An 80-year-old woman was scammed after sending money to a man who said he was an astronaut stranded in space who needed money for oxygen. Read More

• Mortgage Fraud Craziness - The DOJ has officially launched a criminal investigation into the Fed Reserve Governor for Occupancy fraud. A video circulated shows a renter in a home she claimed was owner-occupied. Read More

• How Dumb Can You Be? - A surgeon froze off his own legs, calling them “unwelcome extras,” and now he is going to jail for close to three years. Read More.

• Nano Banana Fakery - A founder is calling out how easy it is to deepfake images and scenes that never happened with this single selfie he took. See Post

• China Stole Data From Every American - An FBI expert fears that China has stolen data from every American in an extended hack going back at least four years. Read More

• This is Wild If True! - Steve Ballmer (former Microsoft) and owner of the Clippers, is accused of a roundabout fraud scheme to pay Kawhi Leonard $28 million for a “no-show” job to circumvent the salary cap. Read More

• Curious Seizure - Border patrol agents in Seattle found over $500,000 worth of fake Labubu dolls that were enroute from South Korea. Read More

• $1.2 Billion Founder Fraud - The Founder of high-flying “IRL” is charged with fraud after spending investor money on his wedding, art classes and luxury trips. Read More

• AI Hunger Strikers - Hunger Strikers are camped out in front of Anthropic to protest AI, which they say will “endanger the lives of everyone”. This is getting serious. Read More

• Shroud of Turin - A newly discovered ancient document reveals that the Shroud of Turin is an obvious fake. Read More

Gotcha! How 50 Fraud Experts At A Singapore Convention Got Scammed

Would you have fallen for this? Leading fraud and cyber experts from across the world congregated in Singapore, and many of them got hit flat-footed as they fell for a massive, orchestrated scam. But there was a twist!

What scam did they fall for? Click below to find out!

1 in 3 Fraudulent Receipts Submitted To Employers Are Created By AI

In the world of fraudulent receipts submitted for employee reimbursement, it’s AI vs AI these days.

Companies now say that 30% of fraudulent receipts are created by Chatbots, and companies like AppZen, Expensify and SAP have created defensive AI that can spot those fake receipts a mile away.

With the average loss from expense fraud hitting $50,000 this is one of the first areas we are seeing the war against AI play out.

State Employee Credit Union Stung By 2 AM Glitch That Fraud Ring Exploited

I suppose you could call this the “SECU Infinite Money Glitch.”

Every night around 2 a.m., while most people are sleeping, the State Employees' Credit Union's computers would pause to reconcile their records. For that brief window of time, the system couldn't determine actual account balances. Four individuals somehow discovered this vulnerability and exploited it to create a $470,000 fraud scheme.

Business Insider Got Scammed By Fake AI Journalists

Business Insider deleted 34 articles after admitting that it had published articles by a fake journalists with names Margaux Blanchard, Tim Stevenson, Nate Giovanni and more.

The articles were paid essays that BI paid $200 to $300 for.

Broken Keyboards, Missing Parts - The Zombie ATMs At The Center of $770 Million Fraud

It was a Ponzi scheme for the ages. Darryl Heller said he ran the fifth-largest ATM network in the country, but in actuality, many of the ATM’s that he owned sat broken in warehouses.

That didn’t stop him from bilking mostly Amish investors, who he targeted because they were less savvy, out of hundreds of millions.

Burger King Hacked - Whopper Of Risk And Audio Surveillance Found

Two security researchers discovered significant vulnerabilities in the drive-thru systems of RBI brands, which allowed them to access 30,000 Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes locations worldwide.

Most alarming was their ability to listen to actual recordings of customers ordering food through the drive-thru, which included personal conversations and background audio. The hacker suggests that Burger King uses it to train their AI.

CFPB Credit Bureau Disputes Hit Record 493,000 Complaints

Credit washing is insane right now. CFPB disputes almost hit half a million last month. This is a major red flag for banks and lenders. Credit scores might not be as reliable as we think they are.

Oh Boy, Scammers Haotian AI Now Boast Deepfakes With Realtime Voice Cloning

The AI software that scammers use now boasts that they offer voice cloning of anyone’s voice in real-time, along with their state-of-the-art deepfake face swapping.

Watch how good the scammers ' face-swapping AI is getting in their latest video release.

Good Doctor. Bad Doctor. AI Scammers Hijack Doctors’ Identities For Scams

There is a global surge of fraudsters hijacking the online personas of prominent medical professionals and creating AI deepfakes to sell unproven health products or to swindle innocent people.

The New York Times covers the emerging trend where scammers are tarnishing the reputations of reputable doctors with AI.

“Oh No, Chuckie!”, Kids Scream As Police Arrest Credit Card Fraud Scheming Mouse

Watch the full arrest on police Bodycam footage of the cutest credit card fraudster as he is cuffed and lead out of the restaurant.

California Woman Loses Home To Scammer Who Sent Her AI Deepfake Videos

A woman sent $81,000 to a romance scammer but that wasn’t enough. He kept sending her AI videos, so she sold her $350,000 home and sent the scammer the money.

You can see the AI videos he sent her in this clip.

Well, that’s all the news fit to be printed this week.

I hope you have a great day, fighting fraud and stopping scams.

FrankonFraud