An evolution of cyber crime: The rise of cyber scam factories
9th May 2024 | Modified: 25th April 2024Categories: Security
There are many sides to cyber crime. However, there is another aspect of the horror of cyber crime that is the cyber scam factory.
Reported in world news over the last few weeks, has been the rescue by the Indian government of 250 Indian nationals who had fallen victim to job scams, where they were made to perpetrate cyber crimes from locations in Southeast Asia.
The scammers have been known to commit romantic and impersonation fraud”
How it works, is that an individual is offered legitimate work. However, it all goes south really quickly, they find themselves confined, working in inhumane conditions, threatened and coerced into undertaking illegal cyber work that targets individuals around the globe. The factories are often set up in locations where law enforcement is lax, where the vulnerable individual is miles away from home or friends.
Often the target victim is young, tech-savvy and looking for a new opportunity to use their skills. These victims have found themselves working for online scams, operating crypto fraud, gaming, and money laundering. Or, they are set to work on setting up hundreds of fake social media accounts, being forced to be on the lookout to lure people in with an online offer of romantic interest; once hooked, they should get as much money from the ‘target’ as they can.
The scammers have been known to commit romantic and impersonation fraud. Typically, the scammer will pretend to be a romantic partner and exploit their victims both financially and emotionally. Alternatively, they will pretend to be working for law enforcement or from a government agency to extort money from their online victims.
It’s been estimated by law enforcement agencies, that hundreds of thousands of people from around the world have been forced by human traffickers who are running cyber fraud schemes to work in such conditions.
It is been suggested that there could be a further 5000 Indians, who have been forced to work on illegal cyber scam schemes out of Cambodia. Sadly, law enforcement agencies in India believe this figure is only the beginning, as a recent UN report stated that there could be as many as 100,000 individuals in Cambodia and a further 120,000 in Myanmar working on similar illegal online cyber fraud schemes alone.
Remember
- Don’t click on any links within the email. It could have devastating consequences. Hackers are known to spoof email addresses.
- Scammers will often use pressure tactics to get you to make a hasty decision. Take stock of the situation, check everything first. Don’t let anyone rush you.
- Check the authenticity of the sender, it’s so easy to do: check the email address. Is it bonafide? Call the person on a trusted number that you know to be the person, agency, or institution. Not the number supplied in the email.
- Never ever, give over a password over the phone. If you do, then change it immediately.
It’s a sad world that It’s come to this, but if you receive any kind of email that just doesn’t feel right, be suspicious. Use all the tools that are available to you, until you’re satisfied the email is legitimate.
