In this month’s episode, we look into the increasing sophistication of the AI voice cloning scam. You may have seen deepfake disinformation videos in the news in the last few years, and perhaps you may even have used AI voice generators or text-to-speech services. You likely thought they were good, but at the same time, they didn’t quite look or sound like a real human. But the tech has been improving. 

The AI voice cloning scam - just another trick to fool victims

Fraudsters and scammers are fine-tuning their attempts at using AI voice cloning tech in social engineering scams, including a recent case when AI voice cloning was used in a kidnapping for ransom scam. But how can this tech be used in future against online companies? Researchers at cyber intelligence company Recorded Futures have released a report showing how AI voice cloning technology is now capable of fooling voice-based multi-factor authentication (MFA) - used by some major banks.

Nethone’s Intelligence Specialist Michał Barbaś is here to tell us more about the consequences of this improving tech, and how you can protect yourself against scammers using AI voice cloning scams.

Nethone.com is a fintech company that fights online transaction fraud using its proprietary software solution. In order to keep clients safe, we keep track of what’s happening in the darknet, the sometimes-murky underbelly of the web, where fraudsters exchange the tools and knowledge to plan their criminal activities. That’s why we’ve created this podcast, to share with you what our experts have found during their investigations! This and all our findings are available on our fraud prevention blog and Darknet Summary fraud podcast.

In this month’s episode of the Darknet Summary, we talk about the latest FBI-led international sting on Genesis Market - one of the largest cybercrime platforms. The sting, known as Operation Cookie Monster, was a coordinated action involving law enforcement agencies in 14 countries. It resulted in the initial arrests of 119 people, from operators of Genesis Market’s domains down to suppliers who provided stolen data for later use in fraud activities.

Genesis Market was raided - what we know so far...

In the early afternoon of Tuesday 04 April, users of Genesis Market trying to access their clearnet sites were met with an FBI seizure notice on the homepage. The site was down. The operation was based on a warrant issued by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

We know that 199 people have been arrested to date, mainly in the US, and across various European countries. A further 208 searches and interviews have taken place. Interestingly, the U.S. DOJ was able to access the user database of Genesis Market, which apparently has 59,000 registered users. More users could potentially have their real identities uncovered, which could lead to more potential arrests...

Nethone’s Intelligence Specialist Michał Barbaś is here to explain the importance of Genesis Market to cybercriminals and how the sting operation impacts the overall fight against fraud.

Nethone.com is a fintech company that fights online transaction fraud using its proprietary software solution. In order to keep clients safe, we keep track of what’s happening in the darknet, the sometimes-murky underbelly of the web, where fraudsters exchange the tools and knowledge to plan their criminal activities. That’s why we’ve created this podcast, to share with you what our experts have found during their investigations! This and all our findings are available on our fraud prevention blog and Darknet Summary fraud podcast.

In the latest episode of the Darknet Summary, we return to the topic of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war - not to talk about the conflict itself, but rather the impact of international economic sanctions imposed on Russia since they began their full-scale invasion.

Preventing sanctions evasion is something merchants and banks must take more seriously

Sanctions have proven largely successful in denting the Russian economy and impacting its effectiveness in waging war. On the other hand, cybersecurity researchers at Recorded Futures highlight that ongoing sanctions evasion has allowed Russian cybercriminals and even regular citizens to bypass these measures by using the dark web and a few tricks. The result is that eCommerce merchants and banks are being fooled into aiding Russian sanctions evasion - something that could lead to them falling under secondary sanctions.

Nethone’s Intelligence Specialist Michał Barbaś helps explain how Russian sanctions evasion is being committed and how to prevent your businesses from suffering from both financial and legal fallout.

Nethone.com is a fintech company that fights online transaction fraud using its proprietary software solution. In order to keep clients safe, we keep track of what’s happening in the darknet, the sometimes-murky underbelly of the web, where fraudsters exchange the tools and knowledge to plan their criminal activities. That’s why we’ve created this podcast, to share with you what our experts have found during their investigations! This and all our findings are available on our fraud prevention blog and Darknet Summary fraud podcast.

In this latest episode of the Darknet Summary, we deal with matters of the heart - online romance scams (also referred to as online dating scams and pig butchering scams), which are fast becoming one of the biggest schemes in the world! When it comes to falling head over heels for someone, all too often, all reasoned thinking might go out the window. Most scammers know this and will use numerous techniques to reel in victims and then use their emotions against them to make money.

Online romance scams - it's not just about fraud, but raw emotion!

As we try to set emotions aside, from our own fraud intelligence point of view, we’re more interested in the methods scammers use to perpetrate their acts. Very often (but not always), this involves the help of darknet forums and marketplaces. Scammers will share their knowledge, tips and tricks (including social engineering attacks), and will even direct fellow scammers to purchase the right tools to commit online romance scams.

Listen to Nethone’s Intelligence Specialist Michał Barbaś explain how online romance scams work and how to spot them.

Nethone.com is a fintech company that fights online transaction fraud using its proprietary software solution. In order to keep clients safe, we keep track of what’s happening in the darknet, the sometimes-murky underbelly of the web, where fraudsters exchange the tools and knowledge to plan their criminal activities. That’s why we’ve created this podcast, to share with you what our experts have found during their investigations! This and all our findings are available on our fraud prevention blog and Darknet Summary fraud podcast.

In the first episode to cover dark web trends that will affect 2023 and beyond, we start afresh by looking at a trend that you will be accustomed to seeing with all digital goods and services - the option to use a dedicated mobile app. But now it’s no longer just eCommerce stores enticing you to download their latest apps, but also dark web vendors seeking to better reach customers beyond forums and marketplaces.

Dark web vendors using mobile apps for improved security and more control

To date, such mobile apps offered on the dark web have been mainly used to sell drugs - so why should anyone involved in risk management and anti-fraud need to concern themselves with mobile apps built by online drug dealers?

Listen to Nethone’s Intelligence Specialist Michał Barbaś explain why dark web vendors offer mobile apps to their users and what it could mean for the future of fraud.

Nethone.com is a fintech company that fights online transaction fraud using its proprietary software solution. In order to keep clients safe, we keep track of what’s happening in the darknet, the sometimes-murky underbelly of the web, where fraudsters exchange the tools and knowledge to plan their criminal activities. That’s why we’ve created this podcast, to share with you what our experts have found during their investigations! This and all our findings can be found on our fraud prevention blog and Darknet Summary fraud podcast.

In the final episode to cover fraud issues in 2022, our latest fraud investigation aims to highlight an often overlooked yet important fraud technique - using aged accounts to trick and build trust with e-Commerce merchants and other service users and most importantly, to fool anti-fraud systems. The real appeal of using aged accounts is to take advantage of the clean account history, reviews and ratings, otherwise ‘normal’ activity associated with genuine users. Fraudsters use Aged accounts to bypass registration and authentication measures.

 Aged accounts are more popular than ever among fraudsters!

Analysts from the threat intelligence company Cybersixgill have highlighted that there has been a surge in interest in aged accounts to enable fraudulent transactions. But there’s more to aged accounts than meets the eye - it’s not only stolen accounts that are popular but accounts cultivated by fraudsters themselves and sold for as little as 10 US cents. Fraudsters will register accounts, often using automated bots, establishing them through regular transactions and behaviours, building trust before selling them sometimes many months later - the older an account, the bigger the price tag.

Listen to Nethone’s Intelligence Specialist Michał Barbaś as he explains everything you need to know about aged accounts.

Nethone.com is a fintech company that fights online transaction fraud using its proprietary software solution. In order to keep clients safe, we keep track of what’s happening in the darknet, the sometimes-murky underbelly of the web, where fraudsters exchange the tools and knowledge to plan their criminal activities. That’s why we’ve created this podcast, to share with you what our experts have found during their investigations! This and all our findings can be found on our fraud prevention blog and Darknet Summary fraud podcast.

In the latest Darknet Summary, we look into how fraudsters attempt to add additional layers of anonymity to their activities by using simple but effective reshipping scams. Such scams have various names including parcel mule scam, work from home scams, but they are more commonly known as reshipping scams. Call them what you like, but the format is usually the same. Fraudsters will prey on job seekers by advertising fake jobs online that look too good to be true. The job always offers people the chance to work from home for only a few hours per week and earn money by performing admin tasks. This includes printing labels and reshipping packages, buying gift cards and transferring money, among other things. Victims believe they are working for a legitimate company, but are in fact working for fraudsters!

 In a recent case in the United States, the FBI and US Postal Inspection Service seized 17 domain names linked to companies involved in parcel mule scams. Although a success, these domains are just a drop in the ocean, pointing to a larger problem we all need to be more aware of.

So how did law enforcement discover the latest reshipping scams? Listen to Nethone’s Intelligence Specialist Michał Barbaś as he explains the reshipping scams work.

Nethone.com is a fintech company that fights online transaction fraud using its proprietary software solution. In order to keep clients safe, we keep track of what’s happening in the darknet, the sometimes-murky underbelly of the web, where fraudsters exchange the tools and knowledge to plan their criminal activities. That’s why we’ve created this podcast, to share with you what our experts have found during their investigations! This and all our findings can be found on our fraud prevention blog and Darknet Summary fraud podcast.

In the latest Darknet Summary, we again revisit the BidenCash carding market. Back in July of 2022, we looked at how BidenCash was promoting itself with credit card dumps. We explained how carding site admins like to focus on marketing campaigns to garner interest in their services. Fast forward to October and BidenCash again made the news with further credit card dumps - this time leaking the details of 1.2 million credit cards.

Has this darknet marketing ploy worked? Is BidenCash flourishing or floundering? Listen to Nethone’s Intelligence Specialist Michał Barbaś as he explains the latest credit card dumps and how carding forums and markets work.

Nethone.com is a fintech company that fights online transaction fraud using its proprietary software solution. In order to keep clients safe, we keep track of what’s happening in the darknet, the sometimes-murky underbelly of the web, where fraudsters exchange the tools and knowledge to plan their criminal activities. That’s why we’ve created this podcast, to share with you what our experts have found during their investigations! This and all our findings can be found on our fraud prevention blog and Darknet Summary fraud podcast.

In a special edition of the Darknet Summary, we talk with cybersecurity expert and Nethone’s R&D Advisor, Mateusz Chrobok, as he tells us how eCommerce businesses and online shoppers should prepare against Black Friday scams!

Listen now, or watch the video interview on YouTube.

Nethone.com is a fintech company that fights online transaction fraud using its proprietary software solution. In order to keep clients safe, we keep track of what’s happening in the darknet, the sometimes-murky underbelly of the web, where fraudsters exchange the tools and knowledge to plan their criminal activities. That’s why we’ve created this podcast, to share with you what our experts have found during their investigations! This and all our findings can be found on our fraud prevention blog.

In the latest Darknet Summary, we look at the trouble brewing in carding forums and markets. We often think about fraudsters as being one large group of kindred spirits, working in cahoots to defraud large companies, organisations and financial institutions. But the truth is, fraudsters will use any means possible to make financial gains, which includes turning on each other  - and there has been a recent increase in such cases. 

So now we pose a question in the form of a tongue twister: just how are scammers scamming other scammers? Experienced fraudsters have created fake carding forums, markets and shops to take advantage of tech amateurs looking to become fraudsters.

Listen to Nethone’s Intelligence Specialist Michał Barbaś to learn more about fake carding forums and markets.

Nethone.com is a fintech company that fights online transaction fraud using its proprietary software solution. In order to keep clients safe, we keep track of what’s happening in the darknet, the sometimes-murky underbelly of the web, where fraudsters exchange the tools and knowledge to plan their criminal activities. That’s why we’ve created this podcast, to share with you what our experts have found during their investigations! This and all our findings can be found on our fraud prevention blog and Darknet Summary fraud podcast.