13 stories this week:
‘Whistleblowers are suffering’: Lawyers renew calls to drop Collaery prosecution – 9 February 2022
Bernard Collaery is the whistleblower that revealed that the federal government spied on neighbour Timor-Leste during tense negotiations. The proceedings returned before the ACT Supreme Court to hear the Attorney-General’s request to add further, secret evidence. This will support its attempt to reverse an ACT Court of Appeal judgment that denied the federal government a secret trial.
Australian cryptocurrency investors targeted in fake crypto app scam, but Google says it ‘takes action’ when ‘violations found’ – 10 February 2022
The Australian Tax Office estimates up to 600,000 Australians have invested in “crypto-assets”. The latest scam involves fake apps offered on stores like Google Play.
CQUniversity pilot project to byte into cybercrime menace costing Australians billions – 11 February 2022
A CQUniversity-led tech team hopes its prototype device can help Australian businesses combat an escalating cybercrime crisis, which cost the nation a staggering $33 billion last year. The device will snip and sit in the network and whenever there is a human error – such as letting the default password onto your smart device or forgetting to encrypt customer data to your database – it will identify them and prepare a report.
Nuix not out of the woods as yet as ASIC continues to probe – 12 February 2022
ASIC concluded an investigation into the Nuix prospectus and said it was not taking any further action.
(Access to digital version of SMH required to read article.)
Australia drops landmark criminal cartel case against Citi, Deutsche – 12 February 2022
A cartel lawsuit against Citigroup Inc, Deutsche Bank AG and four former executives over a $1.8 billion share issue has been withdrawn. The move ends a challenge to the way investment banks jointly underwrite capital raisings and removes the threat of jail for the former bank executives.
The “Bonnie and Clyde” of cybercrime: a record seizure of stolen bitcoins – 14 February 2022
Heather Morgan and Ilya Lichtenstein were arrested in the United States where they are suspected of having tried to launder more than three billion dollars in stolen bitcoins. The FBI says they tried to hide their tracks using “an extensive range of cutting-edge technologies”.
Trump Organization accountants say financial statements should ‘no longer be relied upon’ – 15 February 2022
The accounting firm that prepared Donald Trump’s annual financial statements says the documents “should no longer be relied upon”, after New York’s Attorney-General said they regularly misstated the value of assets. New York’s Attorney-General is investigating “fraudulent or misleading” valuations.
ACCC issues warning over surge in romance scams – 15 February 2022
Scamwatch noted 3,400 filed romance scam cases that cost Australians $56 million – a 44% increase from the year prior. Keeping in mind that only 13% of victims report the incident. Luring people into handing over money and romance baiting, to lure them into investing in cryptocurrency are the most common romance scams.
https://psnews.com.au/2022/02/16/dating-scams-deliver-financial-heartbreak/
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Fraud sentencing set for March – 15 February 2022
A former financial officer of the Mulwala Water Ski Club has been committed to the NSW District Court for sentencing on three counts of ‘dishonestly obtain financial benefit by deception’. Ms Kaye Leanne Ferguson was initially charged with 27 counts of dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception after transferring more than $1.1 million from the club to multiple offshore bank accounts between December 2020 and January 2021.
https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/fraud-sentencing-set-for-march/
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Hollywood email scam nets $900m – 17 February 2022
Los Angeles actor Zachary Horwitz, fabricated email communications, convincing investors to hand over cash, telling them that their money would be used to acquire film distribution rights, which would then be licensed to online platforms like Netflix and HBO. Horwitz was sentenced to 20 years behind bars after admitting he operated a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.
https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2022/elaborate-hollywood-email-scam-nets–900m.html
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Criminal abuse’: record sums of illicit money in cryptocurrency, report says – 17 February 2022′
A report from Chainalysis, reveals record sums of illicit money are being channelled through cryptocurrencies, including theft and money laundering. The research estimates that $A12 billion was laundered in cryptocurrency in 2021, a 30 per cent increase from 2020.
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Warning of fraud risks as travel resumes – 18 February 2022
A new report has warned of vaccination-related fraud risks as Australia reopens to international travellers in coming months. The U4 Anti-corruption Resource Centre told the committee organised crime networks, corrupt healthcare workers and anti-vaxxers were the main perpetrators of fraud.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7625542/warning-of-fraud-risks-as-travel-resumes/?cs=14231
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Embellishing the truth in a CV is common. But here’s where you can cross the line into fraud – 18 February 2022
Article describes examples of where there’s a clear point at which an embellished CV ventures into criminal territory.
