More than 100 arrested in Spain in $900,000 WhatsApp scheme

📌Spanish ‎police‏ ‎have ‎arrested ‎34 ‎individuals ‎suspected‏ ‎of ‎conducting‏ ‎various‏ ‎online ‎scams, ‎seizing‏ ‎firearms, ‎a‏ ‎katana ‎sword, ‎a ‎baseball‏ ‎bat,‏ ‎and ‎€80,000‏ ‎in ‎the‏ ‎process.

📌The ‎alleged ‎cybercriminals ‎are ‎accused‏ ‎of‏ ‎conducting ‎scams‏ ‎via ‎email,‏ ‎phone, ‎and ‎text, ‎including ‎«son‏ ‎in‏ ‎distress»‏ ‎scams ‎and‏ ‎manipulation ‎of‏ ‎delivery ‎notes‏ ‎from‏ ‎technology ‎companies.

📌They‏ ‎are ‎believed ‎to ‎have ‎netted‏ ‎about ‎€3‏ ‎million‏ ‎and ‎had ‎access‏ ‎to ‎a‏ ‎database ‎with ‎stolen ‎information‏ ‎on‏ ‎four ‎million‏ ‎people.

📌The ‎operation‏ ‎is ‎part ‎of ‎a ‎larger‏ ‎effort‏ ‎by ‎Spanish‏ ‎law ‎enforcement‏ ‎to ‎crack ‎down ‎on ‎cybercrime‏ ‎and‏ ‎scams.

📌In‏ ‎a ‎separate‏ ‎operation, ‎Spanish‏ ‎police ‎arrested‏ ‎55‏ ‎people ‎involved‏ ‎in ‎a ‎wide-ranging ‎cybercrime ‎operation‏ ‎that ‎involved‏ ‎phishing‏ ‎scams, ‎SIM ‎swapping,‏ ‎and ‎more.

📌This‏ ‎group, ‎which ‎called ‎itself‏ ‎the‏ ‎«Black ‎Panthers»‏ ‎and ‎was‏ ‎based ‎in ‎Barcelona, ‎operated ‎in‏ ‎four‏ ‎separate ‎cells‏ ‎that ‎stole‏ ‎about ‎€250,000 ‎from ‎nearly ‎100‏ ‎people‏ ‎through‏ ‎a ‎variety‏ ‎of ‎scams‏ ‎that ‎involved‏ ‎the‏ ‎takeover ‎of‏ ‎bank ‎accounts.

📌Impersonation ‎scams ‎reported ‎to‏ ‎the ‎Federal‏ ‎Trade‏ ‎Commission ‎cost ‎victims‏ ‎about ‎$1.1‏ ‎billion ‎in ‎2023, ‎more‏ ‎than‏ ‎three ‎times‏ ‎what ‎consumers‏ ‎reported ‎in ‎2020.

📌Of ‎those ‎reported‏ ‎cases‏ ‎in ‎2023,‏ ‎about ‎40‏ ‎percent ‎started ‎online ‎in ‎one‏ ‎way‏ ‎or‏ ‎another, ‎while‏ ‎a ‎more‏ ‎traditional ‎method‏ ‎—‏ ‎the ‎scam‏ ‎phone ‎call ‎— ‎accounted ‎for‏ ‎32 ‎percent.

📌Cybercriminals‏ ‎are‏ ‎targeting ‎college ‎students‏ ‎with ‎fake‏ ‎job ‎offers ‎in ‎the‏ ‎bioscience‏ ‎and ‎health‏ ‎industries ‎with‏ ‎the ‎hope ‎of ‎extracting ‎fees‏ ‎out‏ ‎of ‎victims.

📌Researchers‏ ‎at ‎Proofpoint‏ ‎uncovered ‎the ‎campaign, ‎which ‎targeted‏ ‎university‏ ‎students‏ ‎in ‎North‏ ‎America ‎in‏ ‎May ‎and‏ ‎June‏ ‎— ‎graduation‏ ‎season ‎— ‎using ‎job-themed ‎scam‏ ‎emails.

📌Deepfakes ‎are‏ ‎adding‏ ‎an ‎insidious ‎edge‏ ‎to ‎some‏ ‎sextortion ‎schemes, ‎according ‎to‏ ‎a‏ ‎new ‎alert‏ ‎from ‎the‏ ‎FBI’s ‎Internet ‎Crime ‎Complaint ‎Center‏ ‎(IC3).

📌Some‏ ‎extortionists ‎have‏ ‎resorted ‎to‏ ‎using ‎technology ‎to ‎create ‎sexually‏ ‎explicit‏ ‎images‏ ‎or ‎videos‏ ‎from ‎otherwise‏ ‎benign ‎content‏ ‎posted‏ ‎online.

📌Hackers ‎are‏ ‎targeting ‎Asian ‎bank ‎accounts ‎using‏ ‎stolen ‎facial‏ ‎recognition‏ ‎data ‎to ‎bypass‏ ‎security ‎measures.

📌Spanish‏ ‎police ‎arrested ‎a ‎19-year-old‏ ‎suspected‏ ‎of ‎carrying‏ ‎out ‎a‏ ‎range ‎of ‎high-profile ‎cyberattacks, ‎calling‏ ‎him‏ ‎a ‎«serious‏ ‎threat ‎to‏ ‎national ‎security»