City of London based Detective Agency ABCIPI monitor the new ways criminals trick victims into giving out confidential information and funds
 
Private Investigators City of London ABCIPI specialises in Blackmail - Cybercrime – Fraud – Sextortion Investigations
 
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Social engineering fraud is a broad term that refers to the scams used by criminals to exploit a person’s trust in order to obtain money directly or obtain confidential information to enable a subsequent crime. Social media is the preferred channel but it is not unusual for contact to be made by telephone or in person

 
Forewarned is forearmed

Understanding the mechanism behind these different types of fraud is crucial to warn unsuspecting members of public so they are not taken unawares

Some scams target a wide audience in order to trap as many victims as possible whereas others address specific individuals.  

Phishing, Vishing and SMShing

Fake emails/text messages/telephone calls purporting to be from a legitimate source such as a bank or e-commerce site are used to induce individuals to reveal personal or financial information

Telecom fraud

Random victims are contacted by a criminal claiming to be a friend, relative or someone in a position of authority and tricked into parting with money

Business Email Compromise

Criminals hack into email systems to gain information about corporate payment systems, then deceive company employees into transferring money into their bank account.

Romance scams

Criminals develop a “relationship” with victims through social media with the ultimate goal of obtaining money.
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Investment/Boiler room fraud

Victims are pressured into investing in fraudulent or worthless shares.  

Sextortion

Victims (often men) are tricked by an attractive stranger into participating in naked videos chats which are secretly recorded and subsequently used for blackmail.

INTERPOL makes a point of staying abreast of these ever-changing trends and we regularly host expert meetings on social engineering fraud.  

Operation First Light

We conduct global anti-social engineering fraud operations codenamed “First Light” with the support of local police forces. In telecom fraud, the calls tend to come from offshore call centres and the proceeds are usually transferred overseas.

The most recent Operation First Light took place from July to September 2017. Police raided 33 call centres based in Asia and arrested 1,013 people, suspected mostly of coordinating or placing cold calls to victims in other countries worldwide to deceive them into paying money. Typical modus operandi involved them pretending to be relatives in trouble and needing money, or posing as public officials requesting payments for services.  Assets worth 3,47 million USD were seized.


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