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»