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Two Nigerian nationals operating from the Chicago suburbs, Anthony Emeka Ibekie and Samuel Anukwu, were convicted and sentenced to 20 and 10 years in federal prison respectively for conducting inheritance scams, romance scams, and business email compromise fraud that defrauded victims of at least $3.5 million. The pair used aliases to communicate with victims across the United States, convincing them of inheritances or building false romantic relationships to manipulate them into sending money to predetermined recipients. A third co-defendant, U.S. citizen Jennifer Gosha, pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges in connection with the scheme and awaited sentencing.

**Business Email Compromise and Romance Scam Operation** Okechukwu Osuji, a 39-year-old Nigerian national, was sentenced to eight years in prison for orchestrating a $6 million fraud scheme involving business email compromise and romance scams that victimized organizations and individuals across the United States. Osuji and his co-conspirators impersonated legitimate businesses in electronic communications to trick victims into transferring funds, while also exploiting elderly individuals through romance scams to use them as unwitting "money mules"—including one woman who sent her entire savings and social security checks to someone she believed was her romantic partner. His accomplice

A Ghanaian national posing as a boyfriend scammed a former South African teacher out of R1.8 million in a romance fraud scheme, convincing her to invest in a trucking business in October 2023 before disappearing. The Hawks arrested 33-year-old Mohoto Mangwejana, into whose account the stolen funds were deposited, though the primary perpetrator remains at large. The case highlights the ongoing threat of dating scams and the importance of recognizing red flags such as unsolicited business proposals and reluctance to meet in public or provide identification.

Australians are being warned of twelve categories of holiday season scams as cyber-security experts anticipate increased fraud risk during peak shopping periods, with previous festive seasons resulting in AUD $50 million in losses. Common scams include parcel delivery fraud, reward point exploitation, fake tax refund schemes, marketplace scams, romance scams, and AI-deepfakes, with New South Wales and Victoria reporting the highest state losses at AUD $13 million and AUD $15 million respectively. To protect themselves, consumers should verify URLs, enable two-factor authentication, keep detailed records of transactions, and stay informed through official scam alerts.

Abiola Kayode, a 37-year-old Nigerian cybercriminal on the FBI's Most Wanted list, was extradited from Ghana to face wire fraud charges for his role in business email compromise (BEC) and romance fraud schemes that defrauded businesses of over $6 million between 2015 and 2016. The scheme involved impersonating executives to trick employees into making fraudulent wire transfers, with stolen funds diverted to accounts controlled by Kayode and co-conspirators. Several of Kayode's accomplices have already been convicted and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 45 to 96 months.

Abiola Kayode, a 37-year-old Nigerian man, was extradited to Nebraska to face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a $6 million email spoofing scam that operated from 2015 to 2016. Kayode and his accomplices impersonated company executives to trick employees into wiring transfers to accounts controlled by the fraud ring, with some funds laundered through victims of romance scams. Several co-conspirators have already been convicted and sentenced to prison with restitution orders, while Kayode remains in custody pending trial.

This curated cybercrime report documents multiple fraud cases across India and internationally. Notable incidents include an Indore resident losing Rs 2.45 lakh to an AnyDesk remote access scam, a Rs 71 lakh online stock market fraud in Pune involving a Russian national, and a Chennai shopkeeper arrested for defrauding over Rs 1 crore through fake goods and job offer scams on social media. The report also highlights international cases including the extradition of a Nigerian cybercriminal to the US for wire fraud and romance scams, cryptocurrency scams targeting Jersey residents, and emphasizes that global scams cost $1.026 trillion annually

AI-enabled scams are projected to cause $40 billion in losses by 2027, up from $12.3 billion in 2023, as fraudsters increasingly adopt deepfake technology, voice cloning, and AI chatbots for romance scams and business email compromise attacks. Criminal activity on fraud-focused channels surged 644% between 2023 and 2024, with scammers now offering "fraud-as-a-service" tools and recruiting workers to create deepfake content. The FBI and fraud experts warn that 2025 will see AI scams become mainstream, particularly in targeted business fraud (like the $30 million Hong Kong Zoom imperson

Nigeria's anti-graft agency arrested 792 suspects, including 148 Chinese and 40 Filipino nationals, in a December 10 raid on a Lagos call center that orchestrated romance scams and fake cryptocurrency investment schemes targeting victims in the Americas and Europe. The operation involved Nigerian accomplices recruiting victims online through social media platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram, then handing them off to foreign scammers who pressured them to transfer money for nonexistent investments. Authorities seized computers, phones, and vehicles, and indicated they are investigating potential links to organized crime networks.

Nigerian authorities arrested 792 suspects, including 148 Chinese and 40 Filipino nationals, in a raid on a Lagos call center that orchestrated romance scams and cryptocurrency fraud targeting victims in the Americas and Europe. The operation lured victims through social media platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram with romantic overtures or fake investment opportunities, then pressured them to transfer money for phoney cryptocurrency schemes and non-existent projects. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission seized computers, phones, and vehicles, and stated it would investigate potential links to organized crime and collaborate with international partners.

Nigeria's anti-graft agency arrested 792 suspects, including 148 Chinese and 40 Filipino nationals, in a December 10 raid on a Lagos building operating as a romance scam and cryptocurrency investment fraud hub. The perpetrators used romantic solicitation to manipulate victims into investing money in fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes. The operation targeted the seven-story Big Leaf Building, identified as a central location for coordinating these transnational fraud activities.

A network of 792 people, including 148 Chinese, 40 Filipinos, and other foreign nationals, was arrested in Lagos on December 10 in connection with a large-scale cryptocurrency fraud and romance scam operation targeting victims in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. The suspects operated from a sophisticated facility where they trained young Nigerians to conduct romance and investment scams using fake profiles, foreign phone numbers, and phishing techniques, directing victims to a fraudulent platform (yooto.com) where activation fees began at $35. The operation involved over 500 SIM cards and high-end equipment, with the foreign nationals exploiting Nigeria's reputation to establish their

On December 10, Nigeria's EFCC raided a sophisticated romance and cryptocurrency investment scam operation in Lagos, detaining 792 suspects including 148 Chinese, 40 Filipinos, and various other foreign nationals who trained Nigerian accomplices. The syndicate operated from a luxury call center equipped with high-end technology, targeting victims primarily in America and Europe through social media platforms by impersonating foreign females and luring them into fake cryptocurrency investments on a platform called Yooto-dot-com, with activation fees starting at $35 USD. The operation recovered approximately 500 SIM cards and involved specially trained Nigerian operatives who were rewarded in cash for their participation in the frau

A 2024 study analyzing over 35,000 survey responses from England and Wales found that while young adults report cybercrimes more frequently, seniors aged 75 and older are over four times more likely to lose money to cybercriminals and twice as likely to be repeatedly victimized. Adults 55 and older in the region lost more than $5 million to fraud and hacking-related cybercrimes, with increased vulnerability linked to physical, mental, or cognitive health impairments.

On December 16, 2024, Nigerian authorities arrested 792 suspects involved in romance scam syndicates, including 148 Chinese nationals, 40 Filipinos, and other foreign nationals along with Nigerian accomplices operating from a Lagos building. The foreign scammers paid their Nigerian recruits between N300,000 monthly and N80,000 weekly to conduct fraud activities on rotating shifts, with some workers earning N100,000 for just 10 days of work plus accommodation. The EFCC conducted a massive raid using over 30 buses and blocking all building exits, resulting in the arrest of the operation's core network engaged in online fraud schemes.

A reformed Nigerian romance scammer named Chris Maxwell, who defrauded dozens of women of $70,000 between 2016 and 2021 primarily using fake military profiles, now works as a consultant educating the public on how to avoid such schemes. He advises people to be wary of social media profiles with few photos, reluctance to video call or meet in person, and to never send money or gifts to unverified online contacts. The FTC reported 42,399 romance scam complaints in 2024 with a median loss of $1,901 per victim, and Americans collectively lost $823 million to such fraudsters that year.

An 80-year-old American woman, Diana Nelson, was victimized by a romance scam orchestrated by Nigerian fraudster Emmanuel Adeboye, who impersonated Hollywood actor Mark Hammon on Facebook and convinced her to travel to Ghana in November, where she was held captive and robbed of her phones, cash, and valuables. Adeboye also manipulated Nelson into obtaining a $15,000 reverse mortgage on her California home and attempted to have her house sold while she was detained; he later contacted her son demanding he sell the property and claiming Nelson had been arrested with undeclared gold and diamonds. The FBI and Ghana Police coordinated a sting operation using her credit

The Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested 792 people involved in cryptocurrency romance scams, including 148 Chinese nationals, 40 Filipinos, and local accomplices, following a raid on a suspected fraud operation. The arrests came after authorities charged a Nigerian man with defrauding 139 Australians of $5 million through crypto schemes that used phishing links to steal victims' login credentials and drain both fiat and cryptocurrency accounts. The operation targeted citizens worldwide, primarily from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe, with foreign kingpins recruiting Nigerian accomplices to prospect for victims online.

This educational article from Kaspersky outlines nine major types of online scams targeting internet users: fake job offers with counterfeit checks, lottery scams, inheritance scams, romance scams, charity fraud, tech support scams, social media scams, robocall fraud, messaging scams, and online shopping scams. For each scam type, the article provides warning signs and protective measures, such as verifying charity status through trusted databases, avoiding remote access to unknown individuals, and checking website security features before making purchases. The overarching advice emphasizes vigilance, scrutinizing suspicious offers, and remembering that offers that sound too good to be true typically are.

Two Nigerian nationals, Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja and Abel Adeyi Daramola, were sentenced to a combined 40 years in prison for orchestrating a romance scam that defrauded an Albuquerque victim of approximately $560,000 between January 2016 and April 2017. The scheme involved creating a fake dating profile under the name "Glenn Brown" on eHarmony.com to establish a romantic relationship with the victim and convince them to send money for a fictitious Malaysian construction project. Ogunlaja and Daramola facilitated the fraud by providing bank accounts to receive and launder the stolen funds.

AI-powered phishing emails are becoming increasingly effective and scalable threats, achieving 54% click-through rates while costing scammers as little as four cents per email and increasing profitability by up to 50 times. Canada reported $531 million in cybercrime losses in 2022, with phishing being a major vector that allows attackers to harvest personal information from social media and craft highly personalized fraudulent messages targeting login credentials, bank accounts, and identity theft. The article recommends protective measures including verifying sender authenticity, scrutinizing links, limiting social media exposure, enabling multifactor authentication, and consulting the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre for guidance.

A 53-year-old French woman was defrauded of over $1 million by a scammer impersonating actor Brad Pitt through AI-generated images and fake text messages between February 2023 and 2024. The victim divorced her millionaire husband after the scammer proposed marriage, then sent $9,000 for customs fees and $800,000 from her divorce settlement after being told the actor needed money for kidney cancer treatment. She discovered the scam after seeing Brad Pitt with his actual girlfriend and filed a complaint in 2024; the scammer remains at large and the victim is undergoing treatment for severe depression.

Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, a 36-year-old Nigerian national, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud as part of a sophisticated inheritance scam that defrauded over 400 U.S. victims, many elderly, of more than $6 million. The scheme involved sending fraudulent letters posing as Spanish bank representatives claiming recipients were entitled to inheritances, then extracting upfront fees and taxes. Ogbata faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing in April 2024, and six international co-conspirators from the United Kingdom, Spain, and Nigeria have also been convicted in the international operation.

A South Florida woman received a fraudulent letter claiming she inherited millions from a late relative and was instructed to pay taxes and delivery fees to claim it; approximately 400 victims lost roughly $6 million in this transnational inheritance scam. Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, identified as a member of the crime ring operating across the United Kingdom, Spain, Nigeria, and Portugal, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing on April 14. Six other co-conspirators have already been convicted and sentenced in connection with the scheme.

Truth Social has become a hub for online scams including phishing, advance fee fraud, romance scams, and cryptocurrency investment fraud, with security researchers receiving over 30 scam messages within hours of creating a test account. A Central European threat actor alone distributed over 500 phishing messages impersonating brands like Netflix and Spotify to steal login credentials since March 2024, while the platform's large interest-based groups (some with 100,000+ members) enable scammers to target victims at scale with upfront payment requests ranging from $250 to $1,000. Social media scams broadly have generated $2.7 billion in reported losses since 2021, according to the

A Florida woman was convicted and pleaded guilty to laundering over $2.7 million in an online romance scam ring, exemplifying a growing problem where the FTC reported consumers lost $8.8 billion to scams in 2022—a 30 percent increase from 2021. Scammers employ sophisticated social engineering tactics including romance cons, fake investments, deepfake videos, and manufactured crises, with adults 60 and older being 73 percent more likely to fall victim to such schemes. Research reveals scammers exploit psychological principles like reciprocity (building trust through small gifts) and crisis manipulation (creating urgent financial emergencies) to manipulate victims into sending money

Oba Otudeko, chairman of Honeywell Group, along with a former First Bank Managing Director and others, faced arraignment before a Federal High Court in Lagos on charges of alleged N12.3 billion fraud involving money laundering and obtaining funds under false pretence between 2013 and 2014. The court hearing was adjourned until February 13, 2025, after defendants' lawyers protested that their clients had not been properly served the charges despite media announcements of the arraignment, with the prosecution stating they would proceed with substituted service at last known addresses.

This article is a political opinion piece criticizing Donald Trump's inauguration and the MAGA movement, not an article about elder fraud, scams, or elder abuse. It contains political commentary about Trump's appearance, demeanor, and leadership style, but no information relevant to elder fraud research.

A 53-year-old French woman lost €830,000 to Nigerian scammers who used AI-generated photos to impersonate actor Brad Pitt and convince her they were in a romantic relationship, claiming the actor needed money for medical treatment. The case highlights how Nigerian internet fraudsters, known as "Yahoo Boys," are adopting AI and deepfake technology to conduct romance scams, a tactic experts warn could significantly increase the effectiveness and prevalence of such fraud schemes.

Three Chicago-area residents involved in a romance scam network that bilked victims of over $3.5 million were sentenced, with one receiving probation and two receiving 10 and 20-year prison sentences respectively. The case centered on 57-year-old Laura Kowal from Illinois, who sent nearly $2 million to a fraudulent online persona called "Frank Borg" over almost two years before her death; the scammers, based in West Africa, used the defendants as "money mules" to launder the stolen funds. The sentencing highlighted the growing use of accomplices to facilitate romance scams and the devastating impact on victims and their families.

A 67-year-old California woman lost her life savings and home to a two-year romance scam in which scammers impersonated actor Keanu Reeves, using "love bombing" tactics to extract tens of thousands of dollars in Bitcoin and gift cards. Katherine Goodson initially blocked one scammer after recognizing a voice message wasn't authentic, but fell for the scheme again when she received what appeared to be a personal apology from the "real" Keanu, leading her to send money for two years until the scammer became hostile and disappeared. According to the FTC, romance scams involving celebrity impersonation defraud victims of over $1 billion annually.

A 53-year-old French woman lost €830,000 ($850,000) to Nigerian scammers who impersonated actor Brad Pitt through AI-generated photos and fake romantic contact on Instagram, claiming he needed money for medical treatment. The case highlights how Nigerian fraudsters are evolving romance scams by incorporating deepfake and AI technologies, with authorities investigating three men in their 20s based in Nigeria. This represents a dangerous escalation of traditional "Yahoo Boys" internet fraud schemes that have plagued West Africa for years.

A French woman lost €830,000 to fraudsters who impersonated Brad Pitt in a romance scam, but the article uses this case to highlight a broader crisis of online fraud and catfishing affecting tech-savvy young people across Ireland and beyond. The piece references an ongoing catfishing operation where a woman created multiple fake profiles to deceive dozens or hundreds of GAA players and others, demonstrating how sophisticated online deception has become beyond traditional Nigerian prince schemes. As artificial intelligence becomes more advanced and social media platforms neglect safety measures, the article warns that distinguishing real from fake online relationships and identities is becoming increasingly difficult for all users.

A 53-year-old French woman lost €830,000 ($850,000) to Nigerian scammers who used AI-generated photos to impersonate Hollywood actor Brad Pitt and convince her they were in a romantic relationship, claiming he needed money for medical treatment. The case exemplifies how Nigerian fraudsters, historically known for romance and sextortion scams, are adopting AI and deepfake technology to exploit victims, with cybercrime experts warning this technological evolution threatens to undermine years of progress in combating internet fraud.

A 53-year-old French woman was defrauded of €830,000 ($850,000) by Nigerian scammers who used AI-generated images of Brad Pitt, posing as the actor and claiming he needed money for a kidney transplant due to frozen accounts from his divorce. The three perpetrators in their 20s were identified through a scam investigator who gained access to their phone, and the victim's legal team is seeking intervention from Nigeria's EFCC to prosecute them. This case exemplifies how Nigerian internet fraudsters are adopting AI technology to conduct romance and impersonation scams on a larger scale.

Nigerian national Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, 36, pleaded guilty to operating a transnational inheritance fraud scheme that defrauded over 400 vulnerable Americans of more than $6 million between 2020-2024. The scheme involved sending fraudulent letters falsely claiming to originate from a Spanish bank and notifying victims of nonexistent inheritances, then coercing them to pay fabricated fees for taxes and delivery charges. Ogbata faces up to 20 years in prison at his sentencing scheduled for April 14, 2025, following successful international law enforcement collaboration involving U.S. and European authorities.

A 53-year-old French woman was defrauded of €830,000 ($850,000) by Nigerian scammers who used AI-generated images of actor Brad Pitt to pose as him on Instagram, claiming he needed money for a kidney transplant due to a frozen account. The three men in their 20s, operating from Nigeria, were identified by a scam investigator who gained access to their phone through a booby-trapped link, illustrating how fraudsters are adopting new technologies like AI to conduct increasingly elaborate romance and financial scams.

Lloyds Bank is warning customers never to share one-time passcodes, passwords, or activation codes, as fraudsters are impersonating bank staff over the phone to steal account access and funds. Criminals use stolen personal details to appear legitimate and employ tactics like claiming they need codes to cancel fraudulent payments or secure accounts, though legitimate banks never request such information unsolicited. The warning comes as unauthorized fraud losses reached £358 million in the first half of 2024, with cases rising 19% year-on-year to over 1.5 million incidents.

I cannot summarize this article as requested because it does not meet the standards for the Elderus database. This piece is not a factual report about a scam or fraud incident. Instead, it contains: - Unsubstantiated conspiracy theories and personal attacks - Inflammatory rhetoric mixing unrelated historical claims with product criticism - Opinion and editorialization rather than documented fraud cases or victim accounts - No verifiable data about actual elder fraud, victims, or financial losses For the Elderus database, I require articles that document specific, verified fraud schemes with identifiable victims, confirmed financial losses, and factual details about how the scam operated. This piece does not qualify.

Poppy, an 84-year-old widow from Manchester, lost £20,000 to three separate romance scams over two and a half years after becoming isolated following her husband's death and during the Covid lockdown. The scammers posed as American men and exploited her loneliness and declining memory by building emotional connections before requesting money for fabricated emergencies. Romance scams in the UK increased 6% in 2024 with victims losing £99.4 million, and criminologists note that previous victims are particularly vulnerable to repeat victimization due to the grooming tactics used.

A 52-year-old Thai woman was arrested at Hat Yai International Airport for her alleged role in a $182.8 million romance scam—Thailand's costliest on record. The woman, Orathai, was accused of opening bank accounts at the direction of her Nigerian boyfriend that were used to launder embezzled funds from EssilorLuxottica; the scam's original victim, the company's CFO, had been deceived over three months into transferring $182.8 million to 112 accounts across 17 countries after being romance-scammed via LinkedIn. The operation involved at least 23 suspects across Thailand, Malaysia, and Nigeria, highlighting how

An elderly widow lost approximately $8.4 million over four years when her son, Brett Thomas Graham—a securities industry-barred individual—moved money from her accounts at multiple financial firms (JPMorgan Securities, Schwab, and Francis Financial) without proper detection or intervention. The woman, who had memory loss and was living in assisted care, had invested nearly $9 million from the sale of her Upper East Side townhouse, but the financial institutions failed to implement adequate safeguards such as flagging suspicious large withdrawals, conducting proper due diligence, or contacting trusted family members to verify the transactions. Her family only discovered the fraud after she was evicted from her assiste

Sandra Bullock warned fans that she has no social media presence and that any accounts claiming to be her are scams, following similar warnings from Brad Pitt after cybercriminals used his likeness in a confidence scheme that defrauded a French woman of $850,000. The article explains how modern celebrity impersonation scams have evolved from traditional "Spanish Prisoner" cons, now facilitated by AI-generated content and paid social media verification badges that allow scammers to easily pose as famous people. Experts warn that paid verification systems have replaced authentication requirements, making it increasingly difficult for users to distinguish legitimate accounts from fraudulent ones.

This educational piece identifies nursing home residents as vulnerable targets for fraud due to limited technology familiarity and describes common scam tactics including phishing, Medicare fraud, prize scams, and investment schemes. According to LA County District Attorney data, one in five older adults experiences financial fraud, with California seniors over 60 filing over 11,000 fraud complaints in 2023 totaling $620 million in losses (averaging $57,000 per victim). The article emphasizes that education is the primary prevention method and recommends immediate legal action if a loved one becomes victimized.

In 2023, people lost $10 billion to fraud according to FTC data, but consumers can protect themselves by recognizing common banking scams. The article outlines ten prevalent scam tactics—including check-cashing schemes, phishing, fake websites, advance fee fraud, and government imposter scams—and provides specific protective strategies such as verifying bank URLs, never clicking unsolicited links, using secure checks, and contacting official customer service lines to confirm requests.

Romance scammers exploit Valentine's Day and other occasions by impersonating military personnel, celebrities, or fake dating agencies across social media and messaging platforms to build trust with victims before soliciting money via wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or gift cards. A tech company disrupted multiple romance scam networks operating across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, and other platforms, with schemes originating from Nigeria and Kenya targeting users in the US, UAE, Japan, Africa, and other regions. The company recommends users verify identities, avoid sending money to unknown contacts, and use platform safety tools to protect against these schemes.

In 2024, cybercriminals exploited Valentine's Day through romance scams, phishing campaigns, and fraudulent e-commerce offers, with romance scams alone affecting 58,734 Americans and resulting in approximately $697 million in losses. Scammers increasingly use artificial intelligence to create convincing fake profiles, deepfake videos, and chatbots that bypass traditional detection methods, while Valentine-themed phishing emails surged dramatically, with half of all such spam classified as scams between mid-January and early February. Red flags include requests to move conversations to private channels, quick declarations of love, excuses to avoid in-person meetings, and requests for money or personal information.

Arizona experienced over $47 million in losses from online romance scams during 2022-2023, ranking fifth nationally, with elderly residents particularly targeted by scammers who build false relationships to extract money. Common tactics include professing instant love, moving conversations off dating platforms to private channels, refusing to share photos, and requesting money—sometimes stringing victims along for extended periods. Authorities warn that scammers increasingly use artificial intelligence and deepfake technology to create convincing false identities, and many victims remain unreported due to embarrassment.

Sextortion has emerged as one of the most devastating romance scams, with fraudsters using fake profiles to manipulate victims into sharing intimate content before threatening exposure and demanding ransom payments. The FBI reported over 12,000 complaints in 2023 resulting in millions in financial losses, severe psychological trauma, and in some cases fatalities, with younger and newer online daters being particularly vulnerable. The article recommends that social media and dating platforms implement stronger identity verification measures, including biometric and government ID verification, to eliminate fake profiles and make it harder for scammers to operate across multiple platforms.

In 2023, Americans lost $10 billion to fraud, with scammers employing increasingly sophisticated tactics to steal money and personal information. The article outlines 10 common banking scams—including check fraud, phishing, fake websites, advance fee schemes, and government imposter scams—and provides protective measures such as verifying bank URLs, never clicking unsolicited links, and avoiding upfront payments for promised services.