Investigative report: Secret online criminal networks

+ abortion in the US one year after Dobbs US Edition - Today's top story: Heists Worth Billions: An investigation found criminal gangs using sham bank accounts and secret online marketplaces to steal from almost anyone – and little being done to combat the fraud [View in browser]( US Edition | 21 June 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [High-tech tools enable widespread financial fraud]( - [Inside ‘mission trips,’ an evangelical rite of passage]( - [Unusually high ocean temperatures are disrupting the climate]( Lead story Today marks the launch of The Conversation U.S.'s first [investigation, “Heists Worth Billions.”]( This is a collaboration between The Conversation U.S. and Georgia State University’s Evidence-Based Cybersecurity Research Group, directed by Professor David Maimon. The research group develops techniques to improve cybersecurity by studying online criminal networks and observing underground markets. Two years ago, Maimon and his team saw a large number of stolen checks flooding those markets. They then noticed the marketing of drop accounts – bank accounts created by using fictitious identities that money is “dropped” into – that can be used for check fraud. Criminals rapidly figured out that an array of frauds could be facilitated by drop accounts, and markets exploded with the necessary tools and instructions to perpetrate those scams. Building on the research group’s work, The Conversation investigated gangs that relied on, purchased or sold drop accounts, identities, checks and other materials to perpetrate their criminal activities. We reviewed thousands of pages of court records and government documents, and obtained transcripts of wiretaps and other official investigative material, bank documents and online communications between co-conspirators. In addition, we interviewed officials in law enforcement, government and the banking industry. We also spoke with reformed fraudsters and hackers who previously participated in drop account schemes to better understand how these crimes were committed. The investigation by Maimon’s group and The Conversation provides an unprecedented look into a vast, secret enterprise that has long stayed hidden in the darkest reaches of the internet, and exposed the huge scale of financial losses suffered by the public because of this crime wave. [[To help us bring important research to the public, please donate today](] Kurt Eichenwald Senior Investigative Editor Scammers are robbing institutions of billions of dollars. Adrià Fruitós [Heists Worth Billions: An investigation found criminal gangs using sham bank accounts and secret online marketplaces to steal from almost anyone – and little being done to combat the fraud]( David Maimon, Georgia State University; Kurt Eichenwald, The Conversation Check fraud is one of history’s oldest financial crimes and criminals are finding new ways to use it to steal billions from banks. Investigation - [Behind the scenes of the investigation: Heists Worth Billions]( David Maimon, Georgia State University Professor David Maimon describes how his team investigated criminal enterprises on the dark web. - [How to protect yourself from drop account fraud – tips from our investigative unit]( Kurt Eichenwald, The Conversation Cyber bank fraud is on the rise. 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