A group of Nigerian business e-mail scammers (BECs) focused on US unemployment programmes and COVID 19 assistance funds under the CARES Act.
The threat, mentioned by researchers Scattered Canary, used the websites of the IRS and the National Unemployment Service to file hundreds of fraudulent claims on behalf of U.S. citizens and receive benefits.
Using the Gmail function
A disparate company in the Canary Islands used the social security numbers and personal data of victims of identity theft to create false accounts on a website to process payments under the CARES Act.
By using Gmail, they can use variations of the same email address for fraudulent requests. However, the answers to one of these addresses will be delivered to a Gmail account.
This works because Google does not read the dots in usernames and visually treats different addresses as if they belonged to the same user. In the Google example you send messages to the addresses below in the same account:
The Agari Cyber Intelligence Department (ACID), a company that protects against advanced email attacks, has identified 259 different variants of the same address that Scattered Canary used for this massive fraudulent activity.
Hundreds of fraudulent applications
Researchers discovered that HEC fraudsters had submitted at least 82 false claims relating to CARES via the IRS website for two weeks (15-29 April) in order to obtain financial support for the Covid 19 pandemic.
The only information the Canary Islands needed to submit these applications was the name, address, date of birth and social security number of Agari.
According to today’s research report, at least 30 of the 82 applications have been assessed and most likely paid for.
Since the 29th. In April, the menacing actor filed at least 174 false claims for unemployment benefits in Washington. The fraudster received reports of the amount to which he was entitled on the basis of the previous year’s income.
An e-mail from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in Washington, D.C. told them they could receive up to $790 a week.
Researchers found that on May 15 and 16 in Massachusetts, Canada, 17 applications were also submitted, and because of their appearance they were all accepted. Each claim is entitled to a different amount with a maximum weekly benefit of $823.
In Hawaii, where such activities had not been previously reported, the fraudsters filed a complaint on the 17th. Can submit two applications.
Former crooks know how to cash in.
Illegal payments are reimbursed with prepaid Green Dot cards, which can be used to obtain government services up to four days in advance.
Agari identified 47 such cards, all in the name of the same person who had cheated at Scattered Canary.
The U.S. Secret Service recently issued a warning in response to an increase in fraudulent applications across the country, naming Washington as the state with the most applications, followed by North Carolina, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Wyoming and Florida.
The Canary Peninsula is probably one of the groups involved in these illegal activities. The group has been active in this field for at least 11 years and focuses on various types of fraud (tax, unemployment, disaster relief, student assistance, social security), romantic scams and fake jobs for money.
Agari has followed the actor since he started out as a one-man business, created by a scam with Craigslist. She quickly turned to romantic scam.
