Consumers Warned About Rise in Call Center Threats

guest · Nov 4, 2021

Consumers Warned About Rise in Call Center Threats
November 4, 2021

Consumers have been warned about a significant rise in call center threat activity, in which attackers use email alongside call center customer service agents to scam victims, sometimes out of tens of thousands of dollars.

Telephone-oriented attack delivery (TOAD) usually comes in two forms, according to cybersecurity firm Proofpoint. One uses free, legitimate remote assistance software to steal money, while the other uses malware, such as BazaLoader, disguised as a document to compromise a computer.
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The emails contain a phone number for customer assistance, and when the recipient calls the number, they are connected to a malicious call center attendant. The customer service representative will then verbally guide the victim through different types of user interaction, such as downloading a malicious file, allowing them to remotely access their machine or downloading a malicious application for remote access.

Proofpoint said that recent lures have included Justin Bieber ticket sellers, computer security services, COVID-19 relief funds, online retailers promising refunds for mistaken purchases, software updates and financial support.
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These attacks can be “life-altering” for victims, with the vendor noting nearly $50,000 was lost in a single case in which the threat actor masqueraded as NortonLifeLock.

The researchers were able to pinpoint many of the attacks as coming from India, with multiple activity clusters occurring in Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi.
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Proofpoint: Caught Beneath the Landline: A 411 on Telephone Oriented Attack Delivery

Key Takeaways

Proofpoint researchers observe tens of thousands of telephone oriented cyberattacks daily.

There are two types of these threats regularly observed by Proofpoint. One features traditional call center fraud, such as fake tech support, to steal money. The second leverages call centers to distribute malware that could be used for secondary compromises.

Proofpoint is aware of individual victims losing nearly $50,000 per attack. It is likely that number is greater.

Malware distributed in some of the observed campaigns could lead to ransomware and pose a greater risk to business operations.

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hawki · Jun 15, 2022

"INTERPOL raids hundreds of scammy call centers in sweep

A worldwide sweep of more than 1,770 call centers suspected of telecommunications and email scams resulted in the arrests of 2,000 suspected scammers money launderers, INTERPOL announced Wednesday...

The two-month operation, which involved 76 countries, also intercepted $50 million worth of stolen funds..."

https://www.cyberscoop.com/interpol-raids-hundreds-of-scammy-call-centers-in-sweep/

reasonablePrivacy · Jun 17, 2022

Great news!

Rasheed187 · Jun 19, 2022

reasonablePrivacy said: ↑

Great news!
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I have watched a couple of videos on YouTube, where call center scammers get punked buy hackers who manage to take over their PC's LOL. I must say it didn't became clear to me how they did this, but they most likely managed to install malware on the scammers machines via TeamViewer.

guest · Sep 3, 2022

Ukrainian Police Bust Crypto Fraud Call Centers
By Phil Muncaster UK / EMEA News Reporter, Infosecurity Magazine - August 31, 2022

Authorities in Ukraine claim to have exposed a network of call centers in the country engaged in financial fraud targeting domestic and EU citizens.

The criminal group’s ‘employees’ apparently used software to spoof phone numbers, so that they appeared to be calling from legitimate banking institutions.
After cold calling their victims, the scammers would pretend to be staff at these banks in order to trick them into handing over their card details.
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In what appears to be another scheme, the fraudsters used fake websites for the trading of currency, cryptocurrency, securities, gold and oil in order to attract investors, guaranteeing them big profits.

A third scam involved targeting foreign victims of cryptocurrency scams. They would pretend to be phoning from the fictitious ‘Community of Cryptocurrency Brokers’ and offer to return stolen funds for a commission.

“After receiving consent to return the lost money, people were sent details for transferring the ‘commission’ to the accounts of the participants in the criminal scheme,” explained the National Police of Ukraine (NPU). “After receiving the funds, communication with the ‘brokers’ was interrupted and payments were not made.”
The NPU teamed up with the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) to carry out the investigation.
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guest · Jan 12, 2023

European police takes down call centers behind cryptocurrency scams
By Sergiu Gatlan @serghei @serghei@mastodon.social - January 12, 2023

Multiple call centers across Europe controlled by a criminal organization involved in online investment fraud were taken down this week following a cross-border investigation started in June 2022.

Law enforcement from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, and Serbia found that suspects operating out of these call centers tricked victims into investing large amounts of money in fake cryptocurrency schemes, also known as 'Pig Butchering' cryptocurrency scams.

"The suspects used advertisements on social networks to lure victims to websites covertly operated by the criminals, which offered seemingly exceptional investment opportunities in cryptocurrencies," Europol announced on Thursday.
"The victims, mainly from Germany, would first invest low, three-digit sums. Fake price hikes leading to supposedly lucrative profits for investors then persuaded them to make transfers of higher amounts."
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In March 2022, Europol announced the dismantling of another massive call center investment scam operation after the arrest of 108 suspects in Latvia and Lithuania.
Victims are losing billions to crypto investment scams
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said in June 2022 that more than 46,000 people Americans reported losing over $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency to scams between January 2021 and March 2022.

This amounts to a massive increase compared to 2021, when the agency revealed that roughly $80 million were lost to cryptocurrency investment scams based on approximately 7,000 reports.
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hawki · Oct 22, 2023

76 locations were raided in India as part of a crackdown on phony tech support scam calls

Around 76 locations were raided across 12 Indian states in a crackdown on tech support scam calls.
India's Central Bureau of Investigations is working with Amazon and Microsoft to combat scammers...

Amazon and Microsoft are teaming up with CBI and international law enforcement in an effort to cut down on the calls...

The FBI estimates that in 2022, over 32,000 people were targeted by tech and customer support scams, with over $800 million in losses..."

https://www.businessinsider.com/scam-call-centers-crackdown-raids-india-microsoft-amazon-2023-10

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