CyberCrime & Doing Time

After having a short discussion with Gemini about Chinese Money Laundering, I could tell we weren't quite connecting on my Mandarin-assistance requests, so I shared an example post from a Telegram "Crime-as-a-Service" group that was part of a Chinese Guar…

My readers will know by now that I am addicted to PACER - the Public Access to Court Electronic Records.

Today my LinkedIn feed and Google News filter is showing me several stories that illustrate how we are failing to stop online scammers from stealing from our elderly.

My colleague Raghavendra Cherupalli will be at APWG eCrime next month sharing a paper based on our research into the Facebook Groups where illicit Indian Call Centers share "Crime-as-a-Service" offerings with one another.

(photo from BBC article "China sentences 11 members of mafia family to death") On Monday this week, Chinese authorities sentenced to death 16 members of "The Four Families" for the multitude of crimes they committed while operating scam compounds in North…

As I was visiting SmishTank to report the most recent SMish that I had received (an iMessage from a +27 South African telephone number claiming to be from ParkMobile) I noticed there had been many recent submissions from the New York Department of Revenue.

Last week the United Nations General Assembly kicked off in New York City.

The case caught my eye with the headline in the Oregon Live trumpeting: "Mail theft suspect in Portland made daring 13th-floor balcony escape, later arrested" and saying that the suspect's apartment contained ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY POSTAL KEYS!

When I saw the name of the Microsoft Digital Crime Unit's latest target, "RaccoonO365" I probably reacted to it differently than most.

At the end of August 2025, The US Attorney's office in San Diego announced four indictments against members of a Chinese organized crime ring that stole at least $65 million from thousands of older Americans.

On 08SEP2025, the District of Columbia's Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Athena, a "Bitcoin ATM machine" provider with 4100+ BTMs installed.

When I was speaking to a group of Bank Security people in New York City yesterday, I mentioned "machine rooms" -- which are rooms full of Apple iPhones that are used to send iMessage phishing spam.

A new round of mobile phish is imitating the State of California's "Franchise Tax Board" in a round of phishing sites that are gaining prominence in the past few days.

CommsRisk once more has a story today about how Chinese organized crime is recruiting people online to drive around with SMS Blasters installed in their vehicles. https://commsrisk.com/thais-caught-with-smishing-sms-blaster-say-chinese-boss-paid-75-per-da…

In Nigeria, scammers who specialize in Romance Scams and BEC are called "Yahoo Boys."

Here we have another cautionary tale about off-shoring customer service when faced with the reality of Call Center Scams that commit fraud via Tech Support Scams and Government Impersonation.

Project Red Hook is a Homeland Security Investigations operation examining how Chinese Organized Crime is committing wholesale Gift Card Fraud by using Chinese illegal immigrants to steal gift cards, reveal their PIN, reseal the cards, and return them to…

The Eastern District of New York has announced charges against four men for their roles in a Business Email Compromise (BEC) and romance scams. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/four-individuals-charged-connection-business-email-compromise-schemes-and-…

Last week I was reviewing a publication by the United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime published in January 2024, titled "Casinos, Money Laundering, Underground Banking, and Transnational Organized Crime in East and Southeast Asia: A Hidden and Accelerati…

Last week the case of Valentine FOMBE was finally brought to a close.

Three indictments have been unsealed in Maryland that document an extensive network of shell companies that were used to wash at least $9.5 Million in funds from at least fifteen #BEC (Business Email Compromise) cases across the country.

When I'm talking to bankers and other fraud fighters, I often mention how easy it is for a criminal to obtain a Drivers License bearing any information they desire.

If you are just joining us, we are reviewing the court transcripts of a Business Email Compromise / Romance Scam Money Laundering case.

The Crypto Launderers: Crime and Cryptocurrencies from the Dark Web to DeFi and Beyond - by David Carlisle I wish I had a way to review this book without having first read last year’s “Tracers in the Dark.”

In Part 1 of this story Classic Baggie: A Delaware BEC Case calls him the leader of an International Criminal Organization the prosecutor in the case of Olugbenga Lawal has given his opening arguments, where he calls Classic Baggie the leader of an intern…