Explore the Archive

A financial columnist for New York magazine fell victim to an elaborate multi-stage scam in which fraudsters impersonating Amazon, the Federal Trade Commission, and a CIA investigator convinced her to withdraw $50,000 and hand it to them in cash over the course of a five-hour phone call. The scammers exploited her vulnerability by threatening her family and creating a false sense of urgency, using isolation tactics to prevent her from seeking help or verification. She came forward with her story to highlight that scam victims span all demographics and professions, and that sophisticated scammers are skilled at identifying and exploiting individual vulnerabilities.

A mother in Australia intervened when her teenage son was targeted by online sextortion—a scam where criminals blackmail victims using intimate images or threats to coerce money or further exploitation. The mother's quick action likely prevented her son from harming himself, though she later learned of another young person who died by suicide after falling victim to the same scheme. Experts warn that sextortion can occur on any platform with chat functions, and parents are urged to maintain open communication with their children and educate them about not sharing personal information or intimate images online.

Meta removed approximately 63,000 accounts linked to sextortion scams, primarily operated by criminals based in Nigeria. The scammers created fake Facebook accounts using stolen photos, built trust with victims through messaging, then solicited intimate photos before threatening to publicly release them unless payment was made. The scam operates as an extortion scheme designed to financially exploit victims through blackmail threats.

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received over 880,000 complaints last year, a 10% increase from 2022, with blackmail scam emails being a prevalent threat. These emails threaten recipients with claims of embarrassing footage or compromised browsing data and often include personal details like names, addresses, and street view images to appear credible. Experts note that while these scams are rarely genuine, they are personalized enough to deceive even cautious individuals.

A new extortion scam targets victims with personalized threatening emails containing their home addresses, phone numbers, and photos from Google Street View, falsely claiming the sender has installed spyware and possesses compromising images. The scammer demands payment in bitcoin (approximately $2,000 in the case documented) threatening to release the alleged images to the victim's contacts, exploiting data from previous breaches to make the threats appear credible. Cybersecurity experts note this is a modern variation of classic extortion tactics that exploits victims' fear and the sophistication of personalized information collection.

"Sextortion" scams are targeting victims nationwide by claiming spyware has been installed on their computers, allowing scammers to capture webcam footage and screenshots of their online activity. The scammers threaten to send this alleged evidence to the victim's contacts unless they pay a ransom, using personalized details like names, addresses, and photos to appear credible. The FBI recognizes this as an extortion scheme that relies on volume and fear to pressure victims into paying.

This interview with Police Sergeant Ken Hatter addresses the "hello pervert" sextortion scam, in which fraudsters claim to have spied on victims through webcams and demand payment in Bitcoin. Hatter explains that these are mass-template emails sent to multiple recipients and are definitively scams, as actual hackers with computer access would steal money directly rather than request it via email.

This WIRED article features "Scammer Payback," a YouTube scam-baiting channel, answering audience questions about common fraud tactics and red flags. The content identifies three major warning signs of scams: scammers pressuring victims to make quick decisions (especially involving gift cards or Cash App transfers), requests for remote access to computers or phones, and demands for untraceable payment methods like Bitcoin or wire transfers. The educational piece emphasizes that time pressure is a deliberate tactic scammers use to prevent victims from consulting family members or others who might intervene.

Police and the Better Business Bureau are warning Wisconsin residents about a "sextortion" email scam in which fraudsters claim to have compromising video footage and demand approximately $2,000 in bitcoin, using publicly available personal information like phone numbers, addresses, and home photos to appear credible. The scammers, typically located in Africa, threaten to send the alleged videos to the victim's contacts unless payment is made; authorities advise recipients to ignore the emails and report them rather than respond, as the scammers will move on to other targets if no payment is received.

Romance scams surge around Valentine's Day, with scammers using sophisticated tactics like the "wrong number" text approach to build trust with lonely people over days or weeks before requesting money or gift cards. Victims have lost tens of thousands of dollars falling for these schemes, which often involve stolen photos of attractive people found on social media or modeling websites. Red flags include requests for money, inconsistent details, and photos that reverse-image search reveals are used elsewhere online; users can verify identities through reverse image search tools and avoid using the same profile photos across multiple platforms.

Former Nashville TV meteorologist Brie Smith has been battling an AI-driven sextortion scam for months in which criminals used deepfake technology to create explicit images and videos of her to extort money from her followers. The FBI reports that sextortion scams have targeted tens of thousands of Americans in the past year, with Smith documenting at least 24 fraudulent accounts impersonating her within a single week. Smith ultimately left her position at the local CBS station in January due to the ongoing harassment and emotional toll of fighting the scammers.

A Nigerian man was extradited from the UK to face eight federal charges for allegedly defrauding Idahoans out of at least $2 million through romance and sextortion scams. He posed as a woman on social media to deceive male victims into sending explicit images, then threatened to share the photos with their families unless they paid. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

This Marketplace investigation exposes a sextortion scam targeting teenagers, particularly young boys, in which criminals create fake female Instagram profiles to lure victims into sending nude photos before blackmailing them for money. The reporters demonstrate how scammers operate by setting up realistic-looking fake accounts, infiltrating follower lists, and using social engineering to manipulate victims into compromising situations. The piece reveals that families across Canada are dealing with the serious consequences of this extortion scheme.

In 2023, consumers lost a record $10 billion to fraud, with imposter scams being the most prevalent, affecting nearly 854,000 people and resulting in $2.7 billion in losses at an average of $800 per victim. Imposter scams involve criminals posing as trusted entities (government agencies, companies, relatives, or romantic interests) via email, phone, text, or social media to steal money or personal information, with emerging technologies like AI and voice cloning making these frauds increasingly convincing. Older adults, particularly those 80 and over, experience significantly higher median losses ($1,450) and are particularly vulnerable to "phantom hacker" tech-

Video call scams are fraudulent schemes conducted via platforms like WhatsApp where scammers use impersonation, deepfakes, and emotional manipulation to target victims through four main methods: blackmail (threatening to release recorded calls), investment fraud, tech support deception, and romance schemes. India's CERT-In recommends safeguards including avoiding video calls from unknown contacts, not sharing personal information, verifying identities, using secure platforms, and maintaining restricted privacy settings on social media.

Fraud Prevention Month 2024 highlights the importance of education and awareness in combating scams targeting Canadians, particularly seniors through schemes like the grandparent scam. In 2022, Canada reported 70,878 frauds affecting 37,047 victims with total losses of $529.3 million, while Manitoba alone experienced 1,850 scams resulting in $10.4 million in losses across 1,011 victims. Law enforcement agencies, including the Winnipeg Police Service, are promoting fraud prevention throughout March via radio panels, community events, educational articles, and social media campaigns focused on cryptocurrency, grandparent, bank investigator, and sextortion frau

This educational piece provides ten practical strategies for avoiding romance scams on the internet. Key advice includes: not engaging with unknown online contacts, using reverse image lookups to verify identities, recognizing manipulation tactics (excessive terms of endearment, avoidance of video calls), never sending money to people you haven't met, and avoiding sharing personal information or intimate photos that could be used for sextortion or extortion. The article emphasizes trusting friends and family who recognize warning signs, as scammers often exploit emotional manipulation and create false scenarios to extract money or sensitive information.

Sextortion is a scam in which perpetrators, often adult males from West Africa or overseas, pose as teenage girls on social media to solicit sexually explicit content from teenage boys, then blackmail victims for money to prevent publication. The FBI reports thousands of victims and at least 20 suicides linked to these crimes in recent years. Fraud expert Steven Weisman recommends parents educate teens about the risks of sharing explicit material online and advises victims to report incidents to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

South Carolina state Rep. Brandon Guffey's teenage son Gavin died by suicide after falling victim to a sextortion scam in which criminals posing as a young female on social media demanded money after he sent explicit photos. Guffey filed an 81-page wrongful death lawsuit against Meta, alleging the company failed to prevent the scam and contributed to mental health crises among young people, while the FBI reports sextortion cases in Georgia increased 700% since 2021. In response to his son's death, Guffey passed "Gavin's Law," making it a felony to target minors or at-risk adults in sextortion schemes.

Naperville police reported over $750,000 in cryptocurrency losses since February, with four cases involving residents aged 43-83 in March alone. Scammers employed various tactics including hacking, romance scams, arrest scams, and sextortion to manipulate victims into sending funds. Police advise residents to avoid sharing personal information, resist pressure to act immediately, consult trusted individuals before responding, and refuse requests for payment via cryptocurrency, gift cards, or wire transfers.

Brent Carey, CEO of New Zealand's Netsafe (which receives 15,000 scam reports annually with 25% year-over-year growth), discusses the expanding fraud landscape affecting victims across all demographics. Romance scams and sextortion are particularly devastating, with sextortion complaints up 88% and primarily targeting young males who are blackmailed after sending intimate images to fraudsters posing as young women. A Netsafe and Global Anti-Scam Alliance survey found New Zealanders lost over $2 billion to scams, with the average victim losing $3,165, contrary to the misconception that only elderly people are targeted.

Syretta Scherer, a 42-year-old Georgia woman, was sentenced to nearly four years in prison in March for her role in a romance scam conspiracy that defrauded at least 28 seniors across multiple states of $5.8 million between February 2018 and November 2019. The scheme involved cultivating fake online relationships through dating apps, then pressuring victims to send money for fabricated emergencies; Scherer laundered approximately $1.1 million through bank accounts created under a sham company called Precise Carriers. Multiple co-conspirators were also prosecuted, with one receiving 78 months in prison and ordered to pay over $

**Summary:** Maria Woodhouse, a 34-year-old job seeker, lost £2,655 to a recruitment scam after being contacted via WhatsApp by a fake recruiter offering remote work for £13 per hour. The scammer created a false job using a cryptocurrency platform (OKX) as a payment method, tricking Woodhouse into depositing money for each "task" while the scammer redirected her funds out of the wallet. Recruitment scams are the third most commonly reported fraud type, with cases rising 156% year-over-year and averaging £3,000 in losses per victim.

Between 2022 and 2023, sextortion reports involving children in Greater Manchester increased by 300 percent, rising from 22 to 88 cases, with a greater than 600 percent increase since 2020. Sextortion is a blackmail scam in which criminals create fake identities to befriend victims online, request explicit photos, then demand money under threat of sharing the images with the victim's social media contacts. Greater Manchester Police emphasized the seriousness of these crimes and encouraged victims to report to authorities or contact Crimestoppers anonymously, noting that victims should not feel ashamed as this crime is not their fault.

In the final three months of 2023, West Sussex residents lost £3.5 million to fraud, with over half of the 53% of victims aged 75 and older falling prey to courier/impersonator fraud, dating scams, and sextortion. To address this, West Sussex County Council's Digital Safety Team is offering free 1.5-hour "Are you scam savvy?" educational sessions in May, June, and July 2024, available both online and in-person at three local libraries, with bookings required through Eventbrite.

Cybercriminals based in China and Pakistan have launched a resurgence of sextortion scams targeting residents of Bhopal, with 21 cases reported in one month resulting in losses of Rs 8 lakh. The scammers use messaging apps with fake female profiles to lure victims into obscene video calls, record the interactions, then threaten to share the videos online unless paid. Authorities advise residents to avoid calls and messages from numbers with country codes +86 (China) and +92 (Pakistan) to prevent falling victim to this fraud.

Suzanne Famula, 39, was defrauded of £20,810 by Christopher Harris, 41, whom she met on the dating app Hinge in November 2020. Harris used a romance scam scheme, repeatedly claiming he had serious health conditions and requesting money for medical expenses, mortgage payments, and bills over their five-month relationship. Harris was sentenced to 30 months in prison in February 2023 after pleading guilty to fraud by false representation, and Famula is now campaigning to establish romance fraud as a specific criminal offense with dedicated victim support.

A Hong Kong finance worker lost $25.6 million after being deceived in a video conference where the CFO and executives were entirely computer-generated deepfakes, representing a sophisticated AI-enabled fraud scheme. Criminals are increasingly weaponizing generative AI tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E to create convincing fake voices, videos, and identities for various scams including celebrity endorsement frauds, romance schemes, sextortion, and phishing emails. Experts warn that AI technology has dramatically lowered the barrier for fraud perpetration, enabling an "industrial revolution for fraud criminals" with potentially endless victims and losses.

A Times journalist and a Conservative MP were targeted in a Westminster honeytrap scam involving fake identities ("Charlie" and "Abi") who posed as acquaintances and sent sexually explicit messages in attempts to gather compromising material. MP William Wragg admitted to sharing colleagues' personal phone numbers after being contacted on Grindr, while journalist Harry Yorke recognized the spear-phishing attempt and did not engage, only understanding it was a scam after POLITICO's reporting. Leicestershire police are investigating the incident, which exposed vulnerabilities in how British political figures can be targeted for cyberattacks and potential blackmail.

This is an educational podcast series covering consumer protection topics rather than a specific fraud or elder abuse incident. Key episodes address red flags in standard contracts, risks associated with rewards credit cards that can lead to debt, vehicle recalls affecting safety, and credit denial trends affecting consumers. The podcast provides advice on identifying problematic contract clauses, understanding credit card pitfalls, and navigating consumer financial decisions.

Meta is testing new safety features to protect young people from sextortion and intimate image abuse, including machine learning technology to detect and blur nudity in direct messages, stricter default messaging settings for teens, and Safety Notices alerting users to potential scam accounts. The company is also sharing information about sextortion accounts with other tech companies through the Lantern initiative and supporting platforms like Take It Down that help young people regain control of intimate images and prevent their distribution.

Young Canadians aged 18-34 are increasingly targeted by phishing scams, with nearly one-third falling victim despite being digitally native. Common schemes include fake boss emails requesting gift card purchases, fake delivery notifications from online shopping, employment scams offering unpaid gig work, and romance scams involving coerced intimate photos, with fraudsters contacting victims via email/text (74%), phone calls (64%), social media (43%), and online dating apps (10%). Cybersecurity experts recommend vigilance against authority figures requesting unusual favors and caution when sharing personal information in response to unsolicited messages.

Romance scammers known as "Yahoo Boys," primarily based in Nigeria, are increasingly using deepfake and face-swapping technology in real-time video calls to impersonate fake romantic partners and defraud victims of thousands of dollars each. The FBI reports over $650 million was lost to romance fraud last year, with the scammers openly sharing their techniques and recruiting accomplices across Telegram and social media platforms. These experienced con artists, who have evolved their tactics as AI technology has improved, operate in loosely organized clusters without formal leadership structure and show little fear of consequences.

A Kolkata resident lost Rs 50,000 to cyber criminals in a sextortion scam after being befriended on Facebook by a woman named "Suchitra Patel" who recorded their interactions. The scammers, posing as a Delhi Police officer named "Bipin Malhotra," then threatened to share obscene videos with the victim's relatives unless he paid. No arrests have been made in the case.

The University of Hawaiʻi Department of Public Safety issued a warning about "financially motivated sextortion," a crime where online predators pose as someone else to coerce victims into creating sexually explicit images or videos, then demand payment or threaten to share the material with the victim's family and friends. Predators typically target victims through social media, dating apps, and gaming platforms by creating fake profiles or hacking legitimate accounts, and may demand payment via gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency. Victims are urged to report incidents to law enforcement, block the predator, and avoid paying money, as cooperating with extortionists rarely stops the harassment.

Romance scams on dating apps cost Americans over $650 million in 2022, with the FTC reporting even higher losses of $1.3 billion and alleging that 25-30% of daily Match.com sign-ups were scammers. These scams, which primarily target older adults, include phishing attacks and sextortion schemes, and victims rarely recover their stolen funds due to the difficulty of tracing money once it leaves the country. Match Group's CEO acknowledged empathy for victims but emphasized the company's focus on platform safety, though the FTC has filed a lawsuit against the company over inadequate fraud prevention measures.

Match Group CEO Bernard Kim acknowledged "empathy" for victims of romance scams on the company's platforms (Match.com, Tinder, Hinge, and others), but stated the company cannot prevent financial losses once users voluntarily send money to scammers. Foreign-based criminals stole over $1 billion in 2023 through romance scams on dating apps, with romance fraud cases sharply increasing from 2017 to 2023 as scammers exploited lonely and vulnerable users, affecting tens of thousands of victims including an estimated 40% men. Match Group emphasized its use of automated detection tools, user warnings, and trust and safety protocols to identify and prevent scams,

The Yahoo Boys, a loosely organized collective of thousands of scammers primarily based in West Africa, operate openly on social media platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, TikTok, and YouTube, conducting romance scams, sextortion schemes, business email compromise, and AI-generated deepfake fraud that collectively total hundreds of millions of dollars annually. These cybercriminals openly share their identities, sell fraudulent scripts and fake identification documents, and coordinate their activities across dozens of groups with hundreds of thousands of combined members, with social media companies providing what experts describe as "free office space" for their criminal operations. While major platforms have removed many Yahoo Boys accounts after media scrut

Olamide Shanu, a 33-year-old Nigerian, was arrested and faces extradition to the United States on charges related to a sextortion scam that allegedly generated up to £2 million. Shanu is accused of posing as a teenage girl online to coerce boys into sending sexually explicit images, then blackmailing them with threats to share the photos with their families and friends unless they paid money; his cryptocurrency account received over 6,000 payments from hundreds of victims over three years. The case coincides with a surge in sextortion scams targeting minors in the UK and US, with at least three British children having taken their own lives after being vict

A 16-year-old boy in Scotland was targeted by sextortion scammers who posed as a young girl, tricked him into sharing an intimate image, then threatened to distribute it to his contacts—tactics that led to his suicide. His parents are now raising awareness about the scam, which primarily targets young men, and calling for social media companies to implement stronger protections for teenagers against these predatory criminals who use psychological manipulation and panic tactics.

Nigeria is a global center for romance scams, particularly targeting foreign victims, with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) reporting 1,129 victims and approximately $14 million in losses in 2021. The EFCC identified rapid growth in cyber-crime among young Nigerians, noting that societal acceptance of these crimes—including parental support of scammers—enables the criminal activity to flourish despite existing laws. Romance scams extend internationally, with documented cases involving Nigerian perpetrators defrauding victims across the US, UK, and Europe, ranging from financial extortion to cases resulting in victim suicides and prison sentences.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines police have warned residents about rising online financial scams, particularly romance scams involving fake identities (catfishing) and phishing attacks targeting confidential information. Victims are predominantly older persons in their late 40s to 50s, with local law enforcement receiving reports of these incidents twice monthly. Authorities advise downloading apps only from official app stores and caution the public about fraudulent emails and websites, noting that identity-related crimes can result in fines up to $200,000 or three years imprisonment under the 2016 Cyber Crime Act.

Sextortion scams, where online predators impersonate teens, build relationships with victims, and then blackmail them with intimate photos, are rising significantly across the U.S. Between October 2021 and March 2023, over 13,000 cases of sextortion targeting minors were reported, with most victims being boys ages 14-17, and at least 20 minors taking their own lives as a result. Authorities recommend parents monitor children's online activity, teach them to recognize warning signs like unsolicited contact and photo requests, and encourage victims to report incidents to police without fear of consequences.

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) launched a new "Account Finder" service to help retail banking customers verify account ownership and reduce risks of unauthorized access, impersonation, and suspicious transactions. The initiative is part of SAMA's broader efforts to combat financial fraud in Saudi Arabia, where a joint study with Interpol identified five major types of fraud affecting Arab countries—including investment scams, business email compromise, romance scams, and sextortion—with fraudulent sites receiving over 137,000 daily visits from potential victims.

A scam called "financial sextortion" has become the fastest-growing cybercrime, targeting young men and teenage boys through fake romantic profiles on social media that collect explicit images and demand ransom payments (typically $300-$3,500) via cryptocurrency or gift cards. Between October 2021 and March 2023, the FBI received 13,000 reports of financial sextortion, with the vast majority involving minors, and at least 20 teenagers have died by suicide after being victimized, including 15-year-old Riley Basford in 2021. Scammers, often operating from Nigeria and other countries, use explicit images as leverage to extort

In 2023, Americans older than 60 reported over $3.4 billion in fraud losses across more than 100,000 complaints to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, with losses increasing 11% from 2022. The most common scams targeting seniors include tech support and call center fraud ($1.3 billion in losses), phony investment schemes ($1.2 billion), and fake romance scams, with the particularly devastating "Phantom Hacker" scam draining victims of their life savings through multiple fraudulent personas. In Kentucky specifically, seniors reported $12.8 million in losses across 908 complaints, and the FBI notes that some victims have rem

Romance scams, which exploited approximately 70,000 Americans in 2022 resulting in $1.3 billion in losses (a 78% increase from 2020), typically begin on social media platforms (40% of cases) or dating apps where scammers build trust before requesting money for investments, emergencies, or travel. Older adults aged 65 and above are the most frequently targeted demographic and suffer the highest financial losses, with victims experiencing not only severe financial consequences but also profound emotional trauma including shame, betrayal, and lasting psychological harm.

A Kolkata resident who fell victim to sextortion via Skype in January—where scammers posed as police after obtaining a compromising screenshot—transferred Rs 10 lakh to the fraudsters before police recovered the stolen funds five months later. Though the money was traced and accounts were frozen, the investigation to identify and arrest the perpetrators remains ongoing.

Sextortion scammers, primarily based in Nigeria, targeted 17-year-old Jordan Buta on Instagram by posing as a girl, coercing him to send explicit images, then blackmailing him for hundreds of pounds—all within six hours before he died by suicide. The crime, which has been linked to over 27 US suicides and more than doubled to 26,700 reported cases last year, led to the extradition and guilty pleas of two Nigerian brothers, Samuel and Samson Ogoshi, on child exploitation charges. Jordan's mother now campaigns on social media to raise awareness about sextortion, one of the fastest-growing scams targeting teenagers

Sextortion scams have been linked to over 27 suicides in the US, with 17-year-old Jordan Buta becoming a tragic victim in 2022 after scammers posing as a teenage girl on Instagram manipulated him into sharing explicit photos, then demanded hundreds of pounds while threatening to share the images with his friends. Jordan took his own life six hours after the scam began; the perpetrators, Nigerian brothers Samuel and Samson Ogoshi, were arrested, extradited to the US, and faced child exploitation charges. Jordan's mother, Jennifer Buta, has since become an advocate raising awareness about sextortion through social media, helping other families recognize