Tag Archives: fbi

Swatting? FBI warns residents of Las Vegas over the dangers

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The FBI Las Vegas Field Office wants to educate the public about the dangers of swatting. Swatting is a form of harassment to deceive an emergency service provider into sending a police and emergency service response team to another person’s address due to the false reporting of a serious law enforcement emergency. The individuals who engage in this activity use technology, such as caller ID spoofing, social engineering, TTY, and prank calls to make it appear that the emergency call is coming from the victim’s phone. Traditionally, law enforcement has seen swatters directing their actions toward individuals and residences. Increasingly, the FBI sees swatters targeting public places such as airports, schools, and businesses. Another recent trend is so-called celebrity swatting, where the targeted victims are well-known personalities.

swatting

swatting

These calls are dangerous to first responders and to the victims. The callers often tell tales of hostages about to be executed or bombs about to go off. The community is placed in danger as responders rush to the scene, taking them away from real emergencies, and the officers are placed in danger as unsuspecting residents may try to defend themselves. If you receive a swatting threat or information that an individual is planning to engage in swatting, report it to local law enforcement and the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI immediately.

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$250 Million Siphoned Off in COVID Time Scam: ‘Feeding Our Future’, 47 Suspects Charged by FBI

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Forty-seven suspects have been indicted so far on charges of defrauding a federally funded child nutrition program of more than $250 million, meant for reimbursements for the costs of serving meals to children in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The investigators believe few meals were ever provided and accused the defendants of misusing the money to purchase cars, vacations, coastal resort properties, electronics, and other luxury items for themselves. The large-scale scam represents the largest theft of federal funds allocated to pandemic aid to date, said FBI.

At the center of the investigation is a now-closed Minneapolis nonprofit called “Feeding Our Future” and its former founder and executive director, Aimee Bock, who oversaw the scheme and has been indicted on multiple fraud and bribery charges.

FBI agents, along with investigators from the IRS and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, prepare to execute one of 25 search warrants carried out in the early morning hours of January 20, 2022, as part of the Feeding Our Future fraud investigation / FBI

FBI agents, along with investigators from the IRS and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, carried out 25 search warrants in the early morning hours of January 20, 2022, as part of the fraud investigation.

Feeding Our Future had served as a sponsor for numerous organizations that signed up to participate in the Federal Child Nutrition Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with states distributing funds locally. Under the program, Feeding Our Future allegedly used its position as a sponsor to engineer a massive fraud scheme.

The charges allege that beginning in early 2020, the organization began recruiting individuals and entities to open fake Federal Child Nutrition Program sites throughout Minnesota., which fraudulently claimed to be serving meals to thousands of children a day within just days or weeks of being formed despite having few—if any—staff and little to no experience serving this volume of meals. In exchange, Feeding Our Future received more than $18 million in administrative fees it was not entitled to.

Feeding Our Future employees also allegedly solicited and received bribes and kickbacks from the individuals and companies it sponsored. Many of these kickbacks were paid in cash or disguised as “consulting fees” to shell companies. In total, Feeding Our Future opened more than 250 sites throughout Minnesota between March 2020 and January 2022 and falsely claimed to have served 125 million meals.

How the defendants perpetrated the fraud:

  • Conspirators submitted a fake attendance roster of 2,040 children who attended one of the sponsor’s afterschool programs during the pandemic but only 20 names matched.
  • One site claimed to serve 2,000 to 3,000 meals per day, seven days a week, from a restaurant that previously had only a few dozen customers a day and $500-$600 in daily sales the previous year.
  • One roster was created using names from a website called listofrandomnames.com. Because the program only reimbursed for meals served to children, other defendants used an Excel formula to insert a random age between 7 and 17 into the age column. In some reports, the names of the children would stay the same, but their ages would change.

More than 250 law enforcement personnel took part in executing the search warrants and then the evidence was brought to the FBI Minneapolis Field Office, where the FBI’s forensic accountants untangled the scheme.

During a news conference announcing the charges, FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Paul said, “During this investigation, the FBI followed many trails—including both money trails and paper trails—filled with falsified invoices and receipts, fictitious names, and an inconceivable number of meals allegedly served, all representing an astonishing display of deceit and evidence of outright fraud.”

To date, the FBI and its law enforcement partners have conducted more than 100 search warrants, completed an additional 100 seizure warrants, and reviewed more than 1,000 bank accounts.  The 18-month long investigation was extremely complex, but the crime was quite simple. “It was just a massive fraud scheme,” said Paul.

The government so far has been able to recover $50 million from 60 bank accounts, 45 pieces of property, and numerous vehicles and additional items, such as electronics and high-end clothing.

 

FBI Warns on Scam to Provide Local Technical Support in Chicago Area

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US investigating agency FBI’s agent Ashley T. Johnson is warning the public about a Technical Support Fraud currently targeting older Americans in the Chicago area.

Technical Support Fraud involves a criminal posing as technical support to defraud unwitting individuals. Criminals may offer support to resolve issues such as compromised email or bank accounts, computer viruses, or software renewals. In this scam currently affecting Illinois residents, it begins with a computer intrusion.

FBI response team in action

Victims of this scam experience a frozen computer followed by a pop-up on their screen advising that their computer has been hacked. The pop-up contains a number claimed to be for a well-known computer software company; however, this number really belongs to the scammers. Once the number is called, the scammer(s):

  • Answer the phone pretending to be an employee of the computer software company. The “employee” claims that the victim’s bank accounts and social security account number have been compromised and connects the victims with other scammers impersonating bank representatives and Social Security Administration employees.
  • Direct victims to download an application that allows remote computer access.
  • Convince victims to withdraw money from bank/investment accounts to avoid “hackers.” Victims are told their money will be transferred to the Social Security Administration where it will be converted to Bitcoin for safekeeping and returned once they are assigned a new social security account number.

Tips to avoid this scam:

  • Avoid installing apps or programs that allow strangers remote access to your computer.
  • Never call the number in a pop-up window.
  • Always disconnect your device from the Internet immediately if you see a scam-related pop-up screen. Do not turn your computer off or reboot.
  • Always be skeptical if someone tells you not to talk to your family about a money transfer.
  • Always be skeptical if a “government agency” asks you to conduct business in Bitcoin.
  • Always call companies, banks, or government agencies directly with numbers you have independently verified.
  • Always contact the FBI at ic3.gov to make a report.

Chinese spy working at Twitter? FBI asks company after whistleblower reveals it

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Chinese rights activists overseas have said that they are concerned but unsurprised at recent allegations that an agent of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working at Twitter, saying such infiltration is part of Beijing’s global influence operation, media reports said.

The FBI informed Twitter of at least one Chinese agent among its employees, according to US Senator Chuck Grassley, while hacker and whistleblower Peiter Zatko said the company’s lax security sparked fears that personal data on Chinese users was being collected by authorities in China, RFA reported.

Zatko, Twitter’s former head of security, levelled the allegations during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, detailing internal clashes between some who sought advertising revenue from China, and others who were concerned about doing business inside China amid rising geopolitical tensions, the report said.

“This was a big internal conundrum,” Zatko told the hearing, adding that Twitter appeared reluctant to turn away from China. “In a nutshell, if we were already in bed, it would be problematic if we lost that revenue stream,” he said.

Zatko said the FBI had told the company that China’s secret service, the Ministry of State Security, had an agent on the payroll, RFA reported.

A Twitter spokesperson said the microblogging platforms hiring process was independent of foreign influence, and that access to personal data was subject to stringent controls, adding that Zatko’s allegations were “riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies.”

France-based commentator Wang Longmeng said the CCP has long targeted Western social media platforms to wage its overseas influence campaigns, and that some of the company’s regional executives have close ties to the CCP, including Kathy Chen, RFA reported.

Chen’s 2016 appointment as Twitter’s managing director for Greater China raised concerns in particular, as it emerged she had served as a software engineer in the People’s Liberation Army’s strategic missile force.

“Kathy Chen, who had a military background, joined [the company], then Fei-fei Li became an independent director,” Wang said. “The CCP’s infiltration of Western media is one of its key strategies.”

“It’s not surprising that the whistleblower revealed there are Chinese agents at Twitter, because there have been suspensions and deleted accounts, and yet Twitter still allows CCP diplomats to spread rumors and lies,” he said, RFA reported.

While China bans Twitter, Facebook and other US social media firms, government agencies and diplomats use the platforms to reach an international audience.

FBI suspects Chinese hackers targeting COVID-19 research progress in US

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The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have ncreased their vigilance in the wake of increased threat to COVID-19-related research in the country. The FBI is investigating the targeting and compromise of U.S. organizations conducting COVID-19-related research by China-affiliated cyber actors and non-traditional collectors.

These actors have been observed attempting to identify and illicitly obtain valuable intellectual property (IP) and public health data related to vaccines, treatments, and testing from networks and personnel affiliated with COVID-19-related research. The potential theft of this information jeopardizes the delivery of secure, effective, and efficient treatment options,” said FBI in a note.

Referring to China’s efforts to target these sectors, it described it a significant threat to the nation’s response to COVID-19 and sought to raise awareness for research institutions and the American public and provide resources and guidance for those who may be targeted. The FBI requested organizations who suspect suspicious activity contact their local FBI field office. CISA is asking for all organizations supporting the COVID-19 response to partner with the agency to help protect these critical response efforts.

A sound-activated camera was used to capture this image during a routine nighttime firearms training session /FBI

“The FBI and CISA urge all organizations conducting research in these areas to maintain dedicated cybersecurity and insider threat practices to prevent surreptitious review or theft of COVID-19-related material,” said FBI in a statement. FBI is responsible for protecting the U.S. against foreign intelligence, espionage, and cyber operations, while CISA protects the nation’s critical infrastructure from physical and cyber threats. CISA is providing support to the federal and state/local/tribal/territorial entities and private sector entities that play a critical role in COVID-19 research and response.

Cybersecurity Guidelines

  • Assume that press attention affiliating your organization with COVID-19-related research will lead to increased interest and cyber activity.
  • Patch all systems for critical vulnerabilities, prioritizing timely patching for known vulnerabilities of internet-connected servers and software processing internet data.
  • Actively scan web applications for unauthorized access, modification, or anomalous activities.
  • Improve credential requirements and require multi-factor authentication.
  • Identify and suspend access of users exhibiting unusual activity.
  • Victim Reporting and Additional Information
  • The FBI encourages victims to report information concerning suspicious or criminal activity to their local field office.

Even the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Agency released a similar alert earlier this month warning of malicious actors targeting COVID-19 response organizations using a tactic of password spraying.