Phone Fraud Groups Now Offering Phone Fraud Protection Service
Fraudsters are always looking for new ways to empty the wallets of their victims, and scammers in the U.K. recently have hit on a novel phone fraud technique that preys on people’s fear of other phone fraud scams. The new tactic involves scammers calling up potential victims and offering them a subscription service that will […]
U.S. Indicts 61 in International Phone Fraud Operation
Three weeks after authorities in India disrupted a major phone fraud ring in Mumbai, the Department of Justice has indicted 61 people in relation to the scam, which officials say generated as much as $150,000 per day. The indictments are the result of investigations involving U.S. and Indian authorities and the phone fraud scheme affected tens […]
Critics Say Robocall Strike Force Plan Falls Short
With the release of its initial report to the FCC yesterday, the Robocall Strike Force laid out plans to implement technical and policy solutions to address the robocall problem, including a Do Not Originate List and more sophisticated traceback techniques. But consumer advocates say that these ideas, while good, aren’t enough to address the problem […]
Carriers Plan to Implement Do Not Originate List to Defeat Robocalls
An industry-led strike force is preparing to take away one of the most valuable pieces of technology used by phone scammers: caller ID spoofing. The Robocall Strike Force, convened by the FCC and comprising wired and wireline telecom companies, has been working since August on a handful of new technologies, standards, and other techniques to […]
FTC Charges Three in $9M Phone Fraud Ring
The FTC has shut down a phone fraud scam that involved scammers calling consumers–mostly elderly and on fixed incomes–and pressuring them to invest in web sites that supposedly had ties to large companies, promising quick returns. The scheme allegedly netted the scammers more than $9 million. The scheme involved six companies that the FTC alleges were […]
IRS Phone Fraud Ring Disrupted in India
Authorities in the Indian city of Mumbai say that a large phone fraud ring was operating in the city for more than a year, running the IRS tax scam and stealing as much as $150,000 per day from victims, mainly in the United States. Police in Mumbai this week conducted raids on nine call centers […]
Mobile Carriers Move to Address Robocalls
The robocall problem long ago spread to mobile phones, but mobile carriers have been somewhat slow to react and address the issue. Sprint this week has taken a step to rectify that by announcing a plan to integrate enhanced caller ID features into its offerings. The company announced Wednesday that it will be integrating technology […]
Phone Scammers Target Immigrants in New Campaigns
Phone scams come in all shapes and sizes, and there are several new schemes that are targeting immigrants with demands for payments to maintain or update their immigration status. The scams closely resemble the IRS phone fraud scams that prey on victims’ fear of being penalized or arrested for unpaid back taxes. In this case, […]
Using Forensic Linguistics to Fight Phone Fraud
LAS VEGAS–One of the difficulties in protecting against phone fraud scams is actually detecting them. Technology certainly helps, but in a lot of cases, it’s up to the potential victim on the other end of the line to figure it out for himself. That has turned out to be a fairly high hurdle for a […]