The United States Secret Service has warned residents of the United States of America about the new techniques, such as sophisticated voice cloning systems, that criminals are now deploying to manipulate unsuspecting victims to steal funds.
The agency claims that the criminals are deploying the technology in such a way that they sound genuine, and unsuspecting victims would have already transferred funds before they realize they are being scammed.
The modus operandi was revealed by United States Secret Service Assistant to the Special Agent In Charge, Joe Kefer, who is in charge of running the cyber fraud squad in the Chicago Field Office.
United States Secret Service warns residents
Speaking on the new methods, Kefer mentioned that these criminals are increasingly trying to use the internet to manipulate and steal funds from their victims. “Fraud cases that involve cryptocurrency tracing, whereas an individual is defrauded through an impersonation scam or a fraudulent investment scam, and they’re convinced to change their currency from U.S. dollars into cryptocurrency,” Kefer told the I-Team.
Kefer claimed that these criminals are now pretending to be someone they know to manipulate their targets. He highlighted that these cases have exploded in the last five years, with several cases a week being investigated by the United States Secret Service. Highlighting a peculiar case, Kefer noted that the criminals recently impersonated the owner of a Nothing Bunt Cakes Franchise in multiple Chicago areas.
“One of his employees received a phone call from somebody who was disguised as the business owner, they used voice replication technology to disguise their voice and make it seem like they’re the business owner,” Kefer said.
Kefer added that the criminals then convinced the employee to take all the cash from the register and go to a cryptocurrency ATM center and send it to them. He added that the amount of audio needed for voice duping is only about three seconds.
Secret Service agents urge users to be careful
“We have known that this technology has existed for years, but slowly, we’re seeing that this is happening more often,” Kefer said. While cyber crime has become a major focus these days, the United States Secret Service still has its eyes on cold, hard counterfeit cash, as people shop.
The agency also shared another warning, noting that there is a new sophisticated credit card skimming from organized transnational crime syndicates.
“We’re seeing them coming from different countries around the world and operating in the United States,” said James Morley, Deputy Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service Chicago field office. Morley noted that these criminal organizations work with local criminals to place skimmers at the point of sale, highlighting that they have now added an update to their operations.
“The skimmers have adopted Bluetooth technology,” Morely said. “And when that card gets skimmed by that device, it’ll automatically get sent via Bluetooth to that phone and then get picked up by a computer or phone anywhere in the world. So, it’s not uncommon where you’ll have a card skimmed here in Chicago and then utilized five minutes later in New York.”
Morley has advised residents of the United States to call their credit card company if they suspect that they have been a victim of fraud.
He also noted that they can use the tap to pay option when possible, noting that those can be exploited too, but it rarely happens. Both Secret Service agents recommended physically shaking the point-of-sale terminal to see if there is a foreign device attached.
They enjoined users to be careful because, as technology evolves, so do criminals, working to exploit unsuspecting users, improve their tactics and operations.
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