A Covid Consequence? Cybercriminals Grow in Sophistication, Organization
December 23, 2021
Prompted by a recent report, an article at BetaNews draws a conclusion that seems like old news to us: “Identity Fraud Gets More Sophisticated, Pointing to Organized Crime Involvement.” Writer Ian Barker tells us:
“In the last year, 47 percent of all identity document fraud was classed as ‘medium’ sophisticated, a 57 percent increase over the previous 12 months. A report from identity verification and authentication company Onfido says this points to organized groups attempting to create ‘verified’ accounts with fake documents before using them to embark on other types of fraud.”
See the write-up for more numbers that show identity theft expanding during the pandemic. But yes, much online crime is well organized. In fact, as ThreatPost reports, they even have their own justice system: “When Scammers Get Scammed, They Take It to Cybercrime Court.” When one bad actor breaks a contract or fails to pay another bad actor, the complainant can appeal to a justice system built into any number of underground forums. Instead of time served, those found guilty of wrongdoing pay with their reputations. And fines, hefty fines—as much as $20 million. Reporter Becky Bracken cites a recent report from cybersecurity firm Analyst1 as she writes:
“‘The plaintiff will submit qualified evidence, including any chat logs, screenshots, crypto currency transactions, and similar relevant information,’ the report explained. The defendant then can present their side of the claim, followed by a ‘cross examination’ by the assigned arbiter, who is typically one of the forum operators or administrators, Analyst1 added. ‘Like in real litigation processes, the trial can end with different verdicts,’ the report said. ‘In a case that the defendant is innocent or there is not enough material for a hearing, the case will be closed with no money or currency exchanging hands.’ Failure to comply with the verdict will lead to the cybercriminal getting banned from the forum, the researchers said.”
The article goes on to detail a few noteworthy cases, so navigate there for those details. To be sure, organized online crime is “organized” much like the Godfather films explain.
Cynthia Murrell, December 23, 2021
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