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German Police Bust Europe's 'Largest' Scam Call Center: Plumpaquatsch writes: Investigators teamed up with colleagues from the Balkans and Lebanon in raids set up by months of intense surveillance. Authorities say the operation thwarted over 10 million euro in damages and led to 21 arrests. Dubbed 'Operation Pandora,' the sting began in Germany in December 2023, after a suspicious bank teller contacted police when a 76-year-old customer from Freiburg sought to hurriedly withdraw 120,000 euro ($128,232) from her savings account to hand over to a fake police officer. When real police investigators tracked the internet-based telephone number that had been used to lure the woman, they discovered a veritable goldmine. Rather than shutting down the number, authorities instead went on the offensive, setting up their own call center in which hundreds of officers from Baden-Wurttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin and Saxony worked around the clock monitoring some 1.3 million calls in real time, as the number from the initial scam was tied to an entire network of fraud call centers. Police were able to trace and record data from the calls, as well as warn potential victims of what was in fact happening, in turn winning valuable time to put together the April 18 sting. Police say their efforts allowed them to thwart some 10 million euro in damages in roughly 6,000 cases of attempted fraud. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

German Police Bust Europe's 'Largest' Scam Call Center: Plumpaquatsch writes: Investigators teamed up with colleagues from the Balkans and Lebanon in raids set up by months of intense surveillance. Authorities say the operation thwarted over 10 million euro in damages and led to 21 arrests. Dubbed 'Operation Pandora,' the sting began in Germany in December 2023, after a suspicious bank teller contacted police when a 76-year-old customer from Freiburg sought to hurriedly withdraw 120,000 euro ($128,232) from her savings account to hand over to a fake police officer. When real police investigators tracked the internet-based telephone number that had been used to lure the woman, they discovered a veritable goldmine. Rather than shutting down the number, authorities instead went on the offensive, setting up their own call center in which hundreds of officers from Baden-Wurttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin and Saxony worked around the clock monitoring some 1.3 million calls in real time, as the number from the initial scam was tied to an entire network of fraud call centers. Police were able to trace and record data from the calls, as well as warn potential victims of what was in fact happening, in turn winning valuable time to put together the April 18 sting. Police say their efforts allowed them to thwart some 10 million euro in damages in roughly 6,000 cases of attempted fraud. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Today, the NCA can reveal that they have shut down a platform used by hundreds of criminals to defraud victims across the world. Russian Coms is thought to be behind financial losses in the tens of millions. An estimated 170,000 people across the UK are believed to be victims. Between 2021 and 2024, over 1.3 million calls were made by Russian Coms users to 500,000 unique UK phone numbers. Of those who reported to Action Fraud, the average loss is over £9,400. Three individuals have been arrested by the NCA, two of whom are believed to have been involved in the creation and development of the platform. Law enforcement partners in the UK and overseas, supported by Europol, will take joint action against users over the coming months. An example of a typical scam involved offenders spoofing the number of a bank to gain the trust of a victim, before convincing them that their account had been subject to fraudulent activity. They would then be persuaded to transfer their money to another account in order to safeguard their savings. Victims of all ages suffered losses, and calls were made to individuals in 107 different countries around the world, including the USA, New Zealand, Norway, France and the Bahamas. Criminals are increasingly using technology to carry out fraud and other crimes on an industrial scale, causing very real harm to victims in the UK and across the world. The NCA and our partners here in the UK and overseas are going after both the criminals and the technology they exploit. Whilst this use of technology, which can be called ‘crime as a service’, promises anonymity, unbeknown to the criminal users, the services also store the users’ data, so we can identify who they are and how they operate. FULL STORY https://lnkd.in/em-34i99

🚀 Future of Fraud Management: Explore the ongoing evolution of identity-focused fraud management. Discover how continual adaptation is crucial in the ever-changing landscape of fraud prevention. 🔄 #Fraud #CCGCatalyst #BankingResearch Effective Fraud Management Starts With Customer Identity: Tyler Brown https://lnkd.in/gE9cTWy9

🔍 Fraud Prevention Focus: Dive into the shift from transaction-based to identity-driven fraud management. Explore how an effective customer identification program can better verify and assign risk to a large customer base. 🕵️♂️ #Fraud #CCGCatalyst #BankingResearch Effective Fraud Management Starts With Customer Identity: Tyler Brown https://lnkd.in/gpBBPETf

A good girl's guide to Digital frauds Modus Operandi: Courier Fraud/Scam Came across one case where called up my colleague as needed few more details for investigations, who is working in one of the branch and fell victim to the recent courier fraud. Courier fraud is a form of scam where perpetrators deceive individuals into believing they are involved in illegal activities or facing legal consequences, compelling them to transfer money or divulge sensitive information under false pretenses. Suprisingly the staff was not aware about the MO and self initiated the transactions and later got to know she is victim of a fraud. If the employee is unaware about such frauds, higher chances that most of the customers who fall prey will be unaware as well. The only purpose of posting this is to make as many people as much I can to be aware of such frauds and safeguard our hard earned money. Stay informed about common scams and fraudulent schemes targeting individuals to recognize and avoid falling victim to fraudulent tactics. Shred sensitive physical documents containing personal information before discarding them and store important documents securely to prevent identity theft and unauthorized access. Share with your friends and family over weekend meet up or dinner table 😬 #Digitalfrauds#Courierfrauds#Scam#BankingFrauds

A really interesting angle to research and land - with today's iPaper reporting on a phone call between a frontline fraud specialist and a criminal, who was impersonating a customer. The call shows the strains on frontline fraud opps - and the depths criminals will sink to when trying to access customers' money: both with impersonation, and abuse & threats, in this case. Great work from George Hulland in the investigations team and the frontline call-handler for dealing with such a persuasive (foul-mouthed!) fraudster.

Man charged over alleged $3 million money fraud scam A Sydney man will face court for allegedly moving $3 million in fraudulent funds as part of a criminal syndicate. The funds were laundered through untraceable commodities such as gold and jewellery, with some proceeds linked to business email compromises (BEC) scams.   Five others have been charged previously. A recent police search in Greenacre led to the seizure of electronic devices and prohibited drugs, and the arrest of a 44-year-old man, who is now out on conditional bail. Police emphasize the importance of online safety and urged the public and businesses to use two-factor authentication and report suspicious activities to the police.   Remember to stay vigilant online, activate two-factor authentication on your accounts, educate staff about BEC scams, and report any suspicious activities to the police to help prevent fraud.   Feel free to connect with me at Digital Resilience for guidance on assessing financial crime risks, establishing policies and procedures, overseeing internal processes, conducting training and awareness programs and creating effective controls. https://lnkd.in/gSymkETH

🔄 Fraud Prevention Evolution: Dive into the shift from transaction-based to identity-driven fraud management. Learn how an effective customer identification program, armed with connected data, is key to catching fraudsters. 🛡️ #FraudManagement #CCGCatalyst #BankingResearch Effective Fraud Management Starts With Customer Identity: Tyler Brown https://lnkd.in/gpBBPETf

If 70% of what you do is just to silently check on what others may have done and it takes you nowhere, it means you should use that 70% somewhere else. In adulthood, when something bad happens, the worst thing to do is to try to cover it up. It doesn't build credibility or trustworthiness. Someone once said: "Take full responsibility for what happens under your line. It's one of the highest forms of human maturity. It's the day you know you've passed from childhood to adulthood." That may be worth reading again. ******** The first Cashpoint in the UK was put into use by Barclays Bank, in Enfield, on 27 June 1967, but it wasn't online, which means it debited the account at a later stage. In 1971, Lloyds Bank claimed to have put in use the first online ATM in Britain.  ******* "A Lebanese loop is a device used to commit fraud and identity theft by exploiting ATMs. In its simplest form, it is a strip or sleeve of metal or plastic which blocks the ATM's card slot, causing any inserted card to be apparently retained by the machine, allowing it to be retrieved by the fraudster when the card holder leaves. Its name comes from its regular use amongst Lebanese financial crime perpetrators, although it has since spread to other international criminal groups. The scam has been reported in countries with high numbers of ATMs such as the UK, the United States, Germany and France. Skimming is the theft of personal information which has been used in an otherwise normal transaction. The thief can procure a victim's card number using more advanced methods such as using a small electronic device (skimmer) to swipe and store hundreds of victims' card numbers." Skimming devices are more complex than a Lebanese Loop because they transmit the card and customer details to fraudster so that they can clone them. It is cut in the shape of the reader, and it contains a small Bluetooth device or a Sim card. ******* AML and Risk Mitigation should not be considered as abstract stuff to write on a report. The world is full of people who say "I provide intelligence, I invent acronyms, I gather data, I am a great leader, I protect my customers, I have proven history of patapim patapum..." This was another milestone of my career because I managed to retain the device and provided the MET with something tangible. Something they could forensically analyse in different ways such as fingerprint examination, sim card number, reception point, etc etc..  Diva#