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Marketers Using The Same Scammy Techniques As Pig Butcherers

Author

Frank McKenna
February 13, 2024

Greetings, fellow fraud trackers

Thanks for keeping up with me on the latest fraud trends each week.

Here are the top fraud reads of the week 👇️ 

No, Jessica Alba Is Not A Cyber-Security Enthusiast. When Scams And Marketing AI Collide

It popped up on my LinkedIn newsfeed last week, giving me a little jolt. I had to rub my eyes to ensure I was not seeing things. 🫣

Could it be true? Did Jessica Alba, the mega-pint superstar, want to add little old me to her network? What was she doing on LinkedIn anyway?

But, not all was what it seemed. Over the following days, I discovered how AI used for marketing purposes could be crossing gray lines into the same techniques scammers use to catfish us and engage in Pig Butchering.

I must say, I wasn’t ready for what I found.

No, Jessica Alba Is Not A CyberSecurity Enthusiast

It popped up on my LinkedIn newsfeed last week, giving me a little jolt. I had to rub my eyes to make sure I was not seeing things. 🫣

This Fraud Startup Just Vanished Into Thin Air Without a Trace

Refend.AI, the Refunding Fraud Solutions company that burst on the scene only weeks ago, has just as quickly disappeared.

The website is down. Their LinkedIn page is down. And there is little evidence that they ever existed. They vanished into thin air.

And one man – Brett Johnson – the original internet godfather might have been the catalyst for their sudden ghosting.

In a Podcast and series of Linkedin and Twitter post, he reports that Refend.AI was run by former professional refunding fraudsters who were acting as “wolves in the henhouse”, by attempting to sell their anti-fraud protection services to merchants.

He Claimed Fraud Co Was Shady, Then They Vanished

Refend.AI, the Refunding Fraud Solutions company that burst on the scene only weeks ago, has just as quickly disappeared.

Pig Butchered CEO Massively Borrowed, Got Employees To Send Wires While Bank Plummeted

Shan Hanes could become the poster child for the Crypto craze of 2022. He may be both a victim and perpetrator of fraud simultaneously, as many speculate he was cut up in a massive Pig Butchering scam that ultimately destroyed the bank.

This was no BEC attack; the wire transfers bank employees did for him were real and directed by him - all for his own perceived gain.

In fact, the OIG published a material loss report that found that Shan Hanes had coerced employees into sending wire transfers far greater than the limits they were authorized to. And they were so nervous they never filed the SARs until after the scheme unraveled.

To make matters worse, as the bank plummeted, he started borrowing massive amounts from the Federal Home Loan Bank to keep the bank afloat - over $21 million!

Pig Butchered CEO Takes Whole Bank Down

In July last year, the FDIC abruptly shut down Heartland Tri-State Bank. It was unclear what happened then, but it came on the heels of the Silicon Valley Meltdown, so many suspected it was a liquidity issue.

Moped Gang Collaborated With Hackers To Fraudulently Hack Phones, Drain Accounts

Street gangs are brazenly stealing phones in vicious drive-bys and then working with hackers to break into phones and drain the bank accounts.

Thanks, Ken Palla, for this shocking new crime trend.

The Cure For The Poison of Deepfakes - Security Questions

Here is a novel idea. If you think are being deepfaked, ask a security question. Vitalik Buterin suggests it could have helped avoid the $25 million Deepfake CFO attack last week.

His rational? Security questions are easy, and you can be dynamic, relying on memory to make questions human.

“Ethical Hacker” Gone Bad, But Apple Thanked Him Anyway

It doesn’t get much stranger than this. Noah Roskin-Frazee, a security researcher who helps companies patch weaknesses in their systems, discovered a backend vulnerability at Apple. Usually, he would report it right away, but this time he decided to defraud Apple to the tune of $2.5 million before he did.

He exploited a password reset function, gained access to employee accounts, and then used that access to reduce order totals to zero before merchandise was delivered.

Does This Famous Fraud Guy Hate Fraud Solution Vendors?

The Famous Fraud Guy (not to be confused with Adam Boston) wants you to know he is not a vendor hater.

He just hates sales guys. 👈️ That’s a joke, by the way, so cool your jets.

After opening his calendar and agreeing to take 30 meetings on a first-come, first-serve basis with fraud solution companies (or anyone who wanted to chat), he was inundated with companies that took him up on the offer. And lots of sales guys offering him free Proof of Concepts.

Check out his hilarious take on fraud company names in this fresh video.

I give it five out of five LOL’s 😆 😆😆😆😆

Matthew Khalil Wins Coolest Way To Read The FrankonFraud Award 😎🔥 

The VisionPro is going to change the way we work on computers, including how we read our fraud content.

Check out fraud fighter Matthew Khalil’s experience on his new VisionPro. I Love it!

Check Out FraudFighters Futuristic VisionPro Experience

New favorite way to consume content. This thing is awesome. 👀 Featuring: Frank McKenna

I Found My Dad’s Old Photo Album, It Has Me Thinking He Was In The Mafia

Sometimes, you pull up an old photo album of your parents, and it has you questioning reality.

My imagination ran wild on what might have been my dad’s secret life. 🙃 

I Found Old Photos. I Think My Dad Was In The Mafia

I was browsing through some of Dad's old photo albums from the 1970s, and I found something that had me scratching my head.

CyberSecurity Giant Set To Acquire Identity Fraud Company

The melding of fraud and cybersecurity has started. Entrust has announced they are in exclusive talks to acquire Onfido.

What is spurring the acquisition? Deepfakes and AI! Entrust is making a big bet that biometrics at onboarding will be how to counterattack deepfakes and clones. Apparently, they are going to pay over $400 million, but that seems low to me, given Onfido already has over $100M in ARR.

Thank you Ken Palla for the tip!

When CyberSecurity and Fraud Join Forces

Deepfakes and AI

$5k Gift Funds From Hubby Could Land Prosecutor Decades In The Slammer

This story is a little bit nuts.

Did you hear about the former Baltimore State Attorney who might be headed to prison for using her own money to get a second home?

Get this 👉️ Marilyn Mosby was convicted for using her 401K and $5,000 from her husband as a down payment for a second home.

The issue with the gift funds was she transferred the money to her husband, who then gave it back to her so she could call it “Gift Funds”. She also got the 401K money by claiming financial hardship. With all the egregious fraud out there, it is surprising that they might throw the book at her.

Little White Lies Could Send Her To Prison For Decades

Marilyn Mosby is facing up to 30 years in prison after jurors found her guilty of mortgage fraud in a split verdict.

AutoTradelines.com - Can It Get Any More Shady Than This?

For $500, this site will sell you a CPN, fake primary tradelines that will be posted to your credit profile, a credit sweep, paystubs, and bank statements. They tout that this works well for buying cars online from Carvana and Vroom.

Fraud as a service is hitting auto lenders hard!

That’s all I have for you this week.

Happy Fraud Hunting 🕵️