Cryptocurrency

“Pig Butchering”: FinCEN Issues Alert on Virtual Currency Scam
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“Pig Butchering”: FinCEN Issues Alert on Virtual Currency Scam

On September 8, 2023, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) released an alert regarding a notorious virtual currency scam called “pig butchering,” because, unfortunately, it resembles the “fattening a hog before slaughter.” These scams are primarily perpetrated by criminal organizations in Southeast Asia where these scams are also called “Sha Zhu Pan.” The unwitting victims are the…

Human Trafficking in the Philippines
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Human Trafficking in the Philippines

Police and armed commandos in the Philippines staged a massive raid over the summer. They weren’t searching for weapons or drugs. They were looking for people. Officials believe human traffickers had lured thousands into a life of cybercrime. What do the BBC, Greece’s Education Ministry, Facebook, and the city of Dallas, Texas, have in common?…

Hundreds of thousands trafficked into cyber scamming in Southeast Asia, UN says
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Hundreds of thousands trafficked into cyber scamming in Southeast Asia, UN says

More than 200,000 people are being forced to carry out cyber scams in Southeast Asia, the United Nations estimates. A report published Tuesday by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights documents the monumental scale of trafficking into an illicit industry that took off following the pandemic and shows no sign of slowing…

UN report links SE Asia crypto scams to human trafficking
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UN report links SE Asia crypto scams to human trafficking

A recent UN report reveals hundreds of thousands of vulnerable migrants have been forced to participate in online scams. It confirms allegations made in a previous FBI report. The new report by the United Nations Human Rights Office has exposed the full scale of horrific human rights abuses taking place inside Southeast Asia’s shadowy network of…

Romanian authorities seize multi-million dollar fortune from social media star Andrew Tate after charging him with rape and human trafficking
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Romanian authorities seize multi-million dollar fortune from social media star Andrew Tate after charging him with rape and human trafficking

Andrew Tate, a social media personality known for expressing misogynistic views online, was charged in Romania with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women, prosecutors said Tuesday. Prosecutors also filed charges against Tate’s brother, Tristan, and two Romanian women in a court in Bucharest, Romania’s capital, the nation’s anti-organized crime agency said. In…

INTERPOL issues global warning on human trafficking-fueled fraud
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INTERPOL issues global warning on human trafficking-fueled fraud

SINGAPORE: For the past several years, INTERPOL has been closely observing a growing crime phenomenon: large-scale human trafficking where victims are lured through fake job ads to online scam centres and forced to commit cyber-enabled financial crime on an industrial scale. The crime trend, which has seen tens of thousands trafficked in Southeast Asia and…

FBI Warns of Crypto Human Trafficking Rings in Asia – CryptoSaurus
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FBI Warns of Crypto Human Trafficking Rings in Asia – CryptoSaurus

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a warning on fake job advertisements luring people to Southeast Asia, where “victims are held against their will and forced to conduct international crypto scams on victims.” These scammers usually place advertisements on social media and lure their victims by promising well-paying jobs. However, upon arrival,…

The Tragic Fallout From a School District's Ransomware Breach | WIRED
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The Tragic Fallout From a School District's Ransomware Breach | WIRED

Ransomware gangs have long sought pain points where their extortion demands have the greatest leverage. Now an investigation from NBC News has made clear what that merciless business model looks like when it targets kids: One ransomware group’s giant leak of sensitive files from the Minneapolis school system exposes thousands of children at their most…

DMW boosts campaign vs human trafficking – The Manila Times
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DMW boosts campaign vs human trafficking – The Manila Times

(UPDATE) AMID calls by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to put an end to modern-day slavery, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople on Tuesday vowed to intensify the DMW’s awareness campaign against illegal recruitment and human trafficking, particularly those being undertaken through social media. At the same time, Ople called on the 11 member…

8 Filipino trafficking victims in Myanmar rescued – DFA – CNN Philippines
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8 Filipino trafficking victims in Myanmar rescued – DFA – CNN Philippines

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 13) – Eight rescued Filipino victims of human trafficking in Myanmar have returned home, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported on Monday. Half are males recruited online from Dubai to supposedly work as customer support representatives in Thailand. From Thailand, they were instead brought to Myanmar where they were…