Local business urges caution after falling victim to cyber attack
With both the frequency and cost of cybercrime on the rise each year, businesses are advised to stay vigilant and informed to avoid falling victim. 1:00 pm, May 27, 2021 ×
2020 was a banner year for cyber crime as complains to the Federal Bureau of Investigation s Internet Crime Complaint Center climbed to nearly 800,000 and resulted in losses of $4.2 billion. iStock / Special to The Forum
FARGO A recent cyber attack waged against his business left Carpet World owner Bruce Kautzman scratching his head.
Kautzman was not entirely sure how the attack even began in the first place. After a customer requested an emailed invoice, Kautzman opened his email and his wife, who was working remotely and monitoring the inbox, quickly alerted him to something awry.
iC3 Logs Six Millionth Complaint
The Federal Bureau of Investigation s Internet Crime Complaint Center (iC3) logged its six millionth complaint on Saturday.
Between 2019 and 2020, the number of complaints filed with the Center rose by nearly 70%. FBI Special Agent Andrew Sekela believes the increase is linked to the COVID-19 global health pandemic.
He said: The cyber-actors have absolutely taken every advantage of that opportunity to increase the number of people that they’re targeting, which is why I think we’re seeing an increase again across the board of all different types of fraud schemes and internet crimes.
iC3 was set up 20 years ago, and it took nearly seven years for it to log its first million complaints. However, the Center logged one million complaints in the past 14 months alone.
Fictitious Regulatory Agency Notifications: Fictitious Notification Regarding The Use Of Bitcoin Wallet For Release Of Funds Supposedly Under The Control Of The US Office Of The Comptroller Of The Currency Date
19/05/2021
Consumers have reported receiving fictitious email messages, which allege to be initiated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) or senior officials of the agency regarding funds purportedly under the control of the OCC. The notification informs the recipient that a “Bitcoin Wallet Address ID NO” is required to allow for a purported transfer of funds. The email contains typographical errors and reads as follows:
“US COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY
Beware of phone scams impersonating U.S. Marshals and FBI
Scammers impersonate U.S. Marshals, FBI
Headlight staff reports
The U.S. Marshals and the FBI are alerting the public of several nationwide imposter scams involving individuals claiming to be U.S. Marshals, court officers/officials, or other law enforcement officials. They are urging people to report the calls to their local FBI office and file a consumer complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, which has the ability to detect patterns of fraud from the information collected and share that data with law enforcement.
During these calls, scammers attempt to collect a fine in lieu of arrest for failing to report for jury duty or other offenses. Intended victims are told they can avoid arrest by purchasing a prepaid debit card such as a Green Dot card or gift card and read the card number over the phone to satisfy the fine, or by depositing/transferring funds into bitcoin or other crypto-currency.
https://www.afinalwarning.com/514910.html (Natural News) Hundreds of cryptocurrency investors lost all their money in their digital wallets after a cryptocurrency scam. The victims invested in a new cryptocurrency, allowing them to purchase pre-sale tokens through fund transfers. Unfortunately, the fund transfer approvals permitted bad actors to access the victims’ digital wallets – and steal all their money.
The affected investors put their money in the efarms cryptocurrency launched by the ElonFarms company. Despite the company name, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has no involvement in the aforementioned cryptocurrency. Initially, investors thought they approved a transaction to purchase the efarms coins. But instead, they lost all their tokens kept in their Trust Wallets instead of the amount for the purchased coins.