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- đď¸ "Fresh Glass" Gang Targets Major Banks In $53M Check Fraud
đď¸ "Fresh Glass" Gang Targets Major Banks In $53M Check Fraud
Frank McKenna
May 05, 2025
Hi Fraud Fighters đ
How about a Monday morning fraud newsletter to start off your week? Itâs a little early this week as I have been traveling a lot.
Itâs conference season. Come to think of it đ¤, Itâs always conference season these days.
Letâs check the top stories this week.
Top Fraud Snippets This Week
Terrifying Virtual Kidnapping - LA police are warning of a digital kidnapping scams targeting the Latino population. The terrifying calls often originate from Mexico claiming to be the Cartel. Read More
Best Deepfake Detector Hands Down- Researchers tested five of the biggest deepfake detectors against 300 sample deepfake videos, and one stood far above the rest with a 98% detection rate. You have probably never heard of this company. Read More
Walmartâs Drastic Action - Skimming has gotten so bad at the retailer that they have now installed bright yellow skim protection rims around every terminal to deter fraudsters from messing with them. Read More
Mr Deepfakes Is Gone - Mr Deepfakes, the largest non-consensual deepfake porn site has closed and said they will never return. Read More
Colleges Turn To AI To Fight Deepfake Students - Colleges across California are fighting fire with fire and implementing AI that can detect bot students that are causing 60% fraud rates on applications. Read More
Americaâs Got Talent Scam - A man stumbled on âthe biggest scam on YouTubeâ, finding a singer that deepfakes himself on Americaâs Got Talent winning the Golden Buzzer awards and then takes advantage of the less fortunate. Watch It
Late notice - An HR firm confirmed a major breach of 4 million employees data including SSN, DOB and full PII. Most people just found out about the breach which happened a year ago! Read More
FTC: Auto Loan Fraud Set To Shatter All Records, Increasing By 43% In First Quarter Alone
Newly analyzed data by CBS reporters reveals that Auto Loan Fraud complaints by consumers has spiked 43% for the first quarter of 2025.
This data aligns with Point Predictiveâs recently released Auto Fraud Trends report which revealed a record shattering $9.2 billion in auto loan fraud to lenders in 2025.
Auto lenders and dealerships are reporting spikes in Bust Out Fraud, Credit Washing, Synthetic Identity and True Name Identity Fraud.
Six Times Check Fraud Has Hit Banks So Hard They Had To Disclose It In Their Earnings Reports
I did a little research over the weekend. My objective? Find cases when check fraud was so egregious that it materially impacted a banks annual earnings reports.
Surprisingly fraud isnât mentioned much in annual reports, but when it is the culprit is often this đď¸ check fraud.
I also learned that one thing was responsible for all of the big fraud check cases that hit earnings hard.
Want to find out what it was?
The Scam Compound Glut - Scam Bosses Complain Their Profits Are Falling
An article posted on Telegramâs Southeast Asia Wanted Notice channel starts with two simple questions â âAre all the scammers losing money this year? Are the good times overâ. The article reports that many scam centers canât make a profit anymore.
With an estimated 750 scam compounds in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar housing up to 350,000 scam workers theyâve literally flooded the market and everyday people are now catching on to the scam. So finding victims that fall for it is harder than ever
It doesnât seem to be stopping. In fact, its like the scam gold rush.
On a recent trip to Cambodia, Erin West (the founder of Operation Shamrock) was shocked. âItâs a construction frenzyâ, she posted on Linkedin. âThere is construction everywhere on a massive scale in remote Cambodian outpostsâ.
Huione Guarantee Helped North Korea With Billions In Fraud - FinCEN Clamps Down
FinCEN is clamping down on one of the most notorious money laundering and fraud rackets of all time - the sprawling Huione Guarantee, which they say laundered over $98 billion in proceeds.
To add fuel to the fire, the company, which has ties to high-level government officials in Cambodia, assisted the North Korean government and sent $336 million in pig butchering proceeds to them. That money was reportedly funneled into North Korea's Missile Program.
Thereâs One Question That Stumps North Korean IT Workers On Zoom Calls
The things you can learn at RSA. And this is a good one. According to Adam Meyers, CrowdStrike's SVP of the Counter Adversary Division, there is one interview question he uses when he wants to completely stump a fraudulent IT worker from North Korea.
That question? đď¸ How Fat Is Kim Jung Un?
They terminate the call instantly, because it's not worth it to say something negative about that," he told a panel session at the RSA Conference in San Francisco last week.
Fraud Dept Calls. They Infect Your Phone And Then Drain Your Account
Researchers have uncovered a new Fraud Service, SuperCardX, from China that can drain credit cards remotely.
It goes like this:
The Fraud Department Call - First, you get a text from the Fraud Dept (itâs fake) You call the scammer and confirm your card and PIN Number.
The Malware Download - Then, they trick you into downloading an app called Reader (itâs malware) and they have you tap your card on it (they steal the info)
The ATM Drain - Finally, using the contactless method on another mobile phone, they drain your card at ATMs
Something to be aware of that could hit the US banks at some point.
Deepface Liveâs Perfect Deepfakes Capture The Heart Rate Of The Real Person
A key signal in detecting deepfake fraud videos has been defeated - the presence of heartbeats that cause subtle variations in the color of someoneâs skin.
The study, High Quality Deepfakes Have A Heart, shows that the best deepfakes are becoming almost entirely undetectable. The recently released Deepface Live is one of the best at replicating heartbeats.
Telegram Fraudsters Carried Out Massive $53 Million Fraud on âWhite House Vibezâ
Four guys in New Jersey carried out one of the largest organized fraud schemes in years, and they did it all off a Telegram Channel.
The âWhite House Vibezâ channel had thousands of followers and members, and they would sell their fresh glass to people all over the country.
Screenshots from the complaint show images from Regions, Truist, Chase, and many other victimized banks.
Haotian Aiâs Latest Release Offers Insanely Realistic Deepfakes For Scammers
Haotian AI, the deepfake software favored by scammers in Southeast Asia released a new even more powerful version of their deepfake face swapping software.
This software is used by AI models in scam compounds whose whole job is to fool victims into believing they are talking to a beautiful model.
Watch as the model pinches her face, waves her hand in front of her face and reflects light at different angles without the deepfake image ever glitching.
TV Meteorologist Quits, Her Life Ruined By Deepfake Sextortion Scams
A famous Nashville-based TV meteorologist says she's been the victim of an ongoing and pervasive deepfake online sextortion scam that is so bad she quit her job.
Bree Smithâs TV clips and images are all over the internet, and scammers took them and waged a sextortion scam, creating hundreds of accounts and targeting people who recognize her.
Thanks for staying informed on fraud with me. If you have any tips or stories, feel free to drop me a link.