• FrankonFraud
  • Posts
  • Is This The Largest Case of Synthetic Identity Ever?

Is This The Largest Case of Synthetic Identity Ever?

Author

Frank McKenna
February 06, 2023

Hello from FrankonFraud.

Another big week in the fraud biz with on a ton of interesting things going on.

I had a chance to speak on the Podcast, The Perfect Scam, hosted by Bob Sullivan with the amazing Ayelet Biger-Levin. Ayelet is a Cybersecurity and Fraud Detection Expert with a wealth of knowledge on so many aspects of both fraud and scams. Connect or follow her if you get the chance.

The Perfect Scam

The Perfect Scam tells the stories of people who find themselves the target of a scam. Host Bob Sullivan introduces listeners to those who have experienced scams firsthand, as well as professional con artists and leading experts who pull back the curtain on how scammers operate.

Now, how about some cool stories about fraud?

$17 Billion In Synthetic Identity Fraud Unearthed

This might be the largest single synthetic identity case ever. And it was perpetrated against the US Government by fraudsters using “Sketchy Social Security Numbers.”

“Sketchy” SSNs can only mean 1 thing - those identities are fake.

And get this; the attempted fraud was over $17.2 billion in small business loans - PPP loans and EIDL loans.

You would think the US could use Social Security Administration databases to validate SSNs before they issued loans! I mean, even the banks can validate who owns the social security number with an SS89 process.

But they didn’t. So taxpayers are on the hook for nearly 70,000 loans for over $5.2 billion, most likely given to fake identities.

The ghost of Stimulus fraud keeps rearing its ugly head at every turn.

$17 Billion In Synthetic Identity Fraud Unearthed

Even the government isn't immune to the scourge of synthetic identity fraud. 🔥 In fact, they got conned in a big way. This week, a group established by the government to oversee the responsible use of pandemic funds, unearthed what might be the largest single case of synthetic identity fraud ever

And that wasn’t the only interesting case.

Did you read about the Google Employee that posted on Social Media that she was laid off due to cost-cutting, but other employees allege that she was fired because of credit card fraud?

Googler Fired For Fraud; She Was Not Part of Mass Layoff

Rie Kurita, an employee at Google in the Bay Area, announced that she was let go by Google as part of their mass layoffs.

However, surveillance video from a restaurant called Cassava showed her using another googler’s credit card to rack up a bill of over $425.

Googler Fired For Fraud; She Was Not Part of Mass Layoff

Tech layoffs seem to be a real thing this year. You probably saw that Google laid off 12,000 employees - about 6% of its global workforce and the announcements from impacted employees were all over Linkedin.

Identity Theft Attempt Turns Deadly With Poison Potion

Olga Syvk, a Ukrainian immigrant salon worker, testified last week about her near-death experience after eating a slice of cheesecake and later some soup provided to her by an identity thief.

She testified that Russian scam artist Viktoria Nasyrova gave her a slice of poisoned cheesecake in failed identity theft attempt against her.

Identity Theft Attempt Turns Deadly With Poison Potion

Identity theft is a nuisance crime to many, but to one woman, it nearly cost her her life. Olga Syvk, a Ukrainian immigrant salon worker, testified last week about her near-death experience after eating a slice of cheesecake and later some soup provided to her by an identity thief.

200,000 Ads On The Dark Web For CyberCriminal Jobs

In a new report by Kaspersky, which analyzed 200,000 job ads posted on 155 dark websites between March 2020 and June 2022, hacking groups seek to hire, offering very competitive packages to entice them.

The highest-paying job seen by Kaspersky's analysts included a monthly salary of $20,000, while ads for capable attack specialists topped at $15,000/per month.

I guess crime does pay pretty well and it seems like there is no shortage of job opportunities.

Cybercrime job ads on the dark web pay up to $20k per month

Cybercrime groups are increasingly running their operations as a business, promoting jobs on the dark web that offer developers and hackers competitive monthly salaries, paid time off, and paid sick leaves.

300 Fraud Fighters, 50 Speakers - It’s Going To Be A Fraud Fight Club

Hey, are any of you going to the Fraud Fight Club in New York this May?

I will be there, and it is shaping up to be quite the event. It’s put on by two of my favorite fraud fighters - PJ Rohall and Ronald at About Fraud.

I’m pretty excited to attend myself - I have never been to a conference quite like this!

Fraud Fight Club

Fraud Fight Club will take place alongside Fintech Nexus USA, and it’s more than a conference; it’s a club. Best of all, it is built for fraud fighters by fraud fighters.

I hope you have a great week fighting fraud. If you’re a fraud fighter, connect with me on Linkedin. I like to stay connected to others fighting the good fight.

If you have any tips for good stories or ideas, hit me up. I’d love to get your perspective.

Have a great week!