According to a media release from the Australian Federal Police (AFP), a second syndicate member has been sentenced for defrauding almost a dozen people across NSW through a Spoofing scam. These spoofing scams involved a scammer pretending to be government officials including the AFP to coerce victims into providing their ID cards, Medicare cards, and cash to the scammer and the scam syndicate.
This is the second member of the Syndicate to be captured, with one other member still at large.
The nature of the scam was highlighted by the manipulation by the scammers:
The 11 victims identified by the AFP were told they had the option to be arrested for money laundering offences or settle the matter by providing identity information, funds and bank details to the ‘government employee’ on the phone.
The Court case also went into more detail about the nature of the syndicate and the scammers themselves.
[The offender was found to be] …’giving false or misleading information to various banking entities using fraudulently obtained personal information of three victims of the criminal activity, falsely representing that they were persons who applied to open various bank accounts…’
Those bank accounts were with WorldRemit Pty Ltd and Wise.
“…the offender falsely subscribed to a Lebara pre-paid telecommunications service and at the same time created a false email account in that persons name…”
After setting the bank accounts up, they deposited the cash that they obtained from the victims by claiming to be a government employee and then withdrew the cash and purchased gift cards and iPhones which they then used and sold respectively in an effort to obfuscate the transactions (a typical money laundering technique).
An earlier media release late last year by the AFP noted that they will never ask for money. The AFP are not a collection agency.
“The AFP will never seek money over the phone or in person, much less to ‘settle’ criminal offences. The AFP is not a payment collection agency, and any request for money or access to bank accounts is an indicator of fraud.”
“If you are contacted by someone claiming to be an AFP officer, ask for their name and badge number; they must provide this to you. Hang up immediately and call the AFP Switchboard on (02) 5126 0000 to verify the information they have provided you.”
What can be done from a cyber security perspective?
- Vulnerable persons need as much information and education as possible. AICS is committed to information sharing and outreach to the community.
- Stronger controls on data collection and data protection are needed, both in legitimate business use and on the dark web. Scammers use these resources to target vulnerable parties, and removing that power from them is critical.
- Speaking to people about incidents like this, especially those who may be vulnerable, not tech-savvy, or socially isolated, and making sure they question unsolicited contact.
Always questioning a phone call or email, and always being wary are the most important tools to not only protecting against individual cyber attacks or scams but also to learning and staying informed as to new threats, because cyber attackers and scammers are always looking for new vectors, new vulnerabilities and new methods to conduct their crimes.
Media Sources
The main media release from the AFP can be found here: https://www.afp.gov.au/news-centre/media-release/second-person-sentenced-over-153000-spoofing-scam
The previous media release can be found here: https://www.afp.gov.au/news-centre/media-release/scammer-sentenced-defrauding-vulnerable-australians-warrant-issued
For the judgment of the court case relating to the second syndicate member: https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/18df798bce6d15a9ed7185aa
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