13 stories this week:
Fujitsu director apologises for British Post Office scandal that saw 900 workers wrongly convicted – 17 January 2024
Nine hundred wrongly convicted British post office workers are on their way to getting justice following a public apology from the company that provided the faulty technology, that led to their false convictions. Multiple managers were imprisoned for theft or fraud for the failures of the accounting software that was first introduced in 1999.
Medion Australia hit with $260,000 fine after SIM-swapping scam leads some telco customers to lose thousands – 17 January 2024
Medion Australia was found to have allowed scammers to take control of customers’ phone numbers by using their personal details to request new SIM cards. Nine customers had their services illegally ported, and five of them together lost more than $160,000, Medion has been forced to pay a $259,440 fine after the watchdog found the telco had not complied with customer identification rules.
What is credential stuffing? How does it work? How can I protect myself from being scammed through my online accounts? – 19 January 2024
Thousands of Australians have been caught up in a fresh wave of scams after their online accounts were hacked and fraudulent purchases were made without their knowledge. The practice is known as “credential stuffing”, and it has long been used as a cyber attack by hackers. Article defines çreditional stuffing, explains how it works, how to protect yourself and explains steps to take if your scammed.
https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2024/01/18/data-credential-stuffing-hack
Man charged as investigations into fraudulent finance applications worth over $2m continue – Strike Force Onsite – 19 January 2024
Financial Crimes Squad detectives have charged a man and executed two search warrants as part of an investigation into an allegedly fraudulent finance and loan applications to car dealerships and other finance companies. It’s alleged between September 2022 to July 2023, the syndicate applied for fraudulent finance applications to at least three companies to the value of $2,147,535.00.
Elon Musk Tries To Have NSW Man Arrested For Exposing Tesla Safety Issues – 20 January 2024
An Australian Federal Court judge has rejected a request by the head of American automative company Tesla, Elon Musk, to have an arrest warrant issued against a man accused of uploading leaked documents by a whistleblower. Tesla claims that Leech has continued to share links to the leaked documents on social media, amounting to an offence of contempt of court. The request by Tesla was considered ‘unrealistic’ and a ‘draconian step’.
https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/tesla-tries-to-arrest-nsw-man-over-whistleblower-docs/
American NRA under fire on charges of financial mismanagement – 22 January 2024
A trial is underway in New York that could have significant political implications in the US. The powerful National Rifle Association and its former long time chief Wayne LaPierre are facing a civil lawsuit that alleges financial mismanagement and millions of dollars in fraud that funded lavish lifestyles for top executives.
Pig butchering scam targeting Australians as AFP warns lonely hearts to be wary this Valentine’s Day – 21 January 2024
Pig butchering, also known as romance baiting and Sha Zhu Pan, is a scam in which offenders often devote long periods of time to gain the trust of victims before encouraging them to invest in the share market, cryptocurrency or foreign currency exchanges. The AFP is also cautioning lonely hearts to be wary of organised criminals this Valentine’s Day, as statistics show Australians lost up to $4500 every hour to romance scammers in 2022 and up to $3800 every hour in 2023.
Romance scam money mule has $239k go through her bank account – 22 January 2024
A romance scam money mule who had $239,000 go through her bank account has been convicted and placed on a good behaviour bond.
Digital access to standard required to read article.
Identifying criminals from single cell – 23 January 2024
The latest techniques in genetics can identify an individual from just one cell. A new project is set to explore whether the justice system could use these to create DNA profiles from complex crime scene evidence.
https://www.miragenews.com/identifying-criminals-from-single-cell-1159136/
Corruption and Crime Commission recommends man be prosecuted over alleged $281k hospital fraud – 23 January 2024
WA’s corruption watchdog has called for possible prosecution of a man who allegedly gained hundreds of thousands of dollars through a “devious” fraud while working at a Perth hospital. Suresh Kumar was a senior biomedical engineer at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.
He set up a business registered to his wife and added it to the hospital’s list of suppliers, to gain a financial benefit of $281,000.
‘Forensic investigation’ launched after woman charged with drug importation linked to companies that reportedly received Australian and PNG government funds – 24 January 2024
An Australian-funded refugee program in Papua New Guinea will be forensically investigated following allegations a woman arrested over an alleged $15 million drug importation attempt had links to companies in the program.
Crypto pastor admits to fraud on video, claims ‘the Lord told me to’ remodel house with funds – 24 January 2024
Eli Regalado and his wife Kaitlyn are facing civil fraud charges in Colorado after selling a “worthless” cryptocurrency and pocketing $1.3 M of donations in a cryptocurrency scheme. He used Affinity fraud, which is tapping into a community of personal relationships to reach multiple victims and took advantage of the trust and faith of his own Christian community.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-25/crypto-pastor-scams-followers-remodel-house/103380582
Australians lose $135,000 to fake ticketing scams ahead of Taylor Swift concerts in Melbourne and Sydney – 24 January 2024
The ACCC Scamwatch says 273 people reported being scammed into buying fake Taylor Swift tickets on social media, with over $135,000 lost so far. The scammers use hacked social media accounts to put up posts saying they can no longer attend the concert and want to sell their tickets.
