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More than 100 arrested in Spain in $900k WhatsApp scheme

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Re: More than 100 arrested in Spain in $900k WhatsApp scheme

#51

Post by RileyJames »

WhyNotHugo wrote: post #48
EnigmaFlare wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish there was more promotion of the simple way to protect yourself from most scams - if someone initiates contact with you, contact them back through a channel you found independently in a way you already trust. My bank keeps warning me of scams and has a list of ways to protect yourself, but they're stupid things like check if the message is from a mobile number, and does it sound too good to be true? They don't…

I got a call once where the guy said he was from a bank. He said he wanted to verify who I was, so was going to ask me some personal details. I replied "you're the one calling me, how do I know you're really from the bank?". He sounded amused by my reply, commented that my stance was quite uncommon, but I had made a fair point. He said I'd get a message via the bank's webapp, with a phone number where I could call hi…

Exactly. They have the capability to push notification to the app to request you call them. They should do that BEFORE. And if they do outbound, immediately state were pushing a notification and you should call us back as we have something important to discuss.

Re: More than 100 arrested in Spain in $900k WhatsApp scheme

#52

Post by mewpmewp2 »

afavour wrote: post #31
danduma wrote: post #7

My mother fell for exactly this scam, thankfully was able to cancel the transaction just in time and gave evidence to the police. Funny to see on HN something that touches one so close. The most fascinating thing here is the lack of sophistication of the approach. No fake images or audio or anything. I'm worried about the new wave of impersonation scams that's coming thanks to voice cloning.

> I'm worried about the new wave of impersonation scams that's coming thanks to voice cloning. That at least isn’t replicable at mass scale. You’d need to have a training set for each relative you’re pretending to be. But in general, yes, it’s going to be a mess.

Latest tools can clone from under 15s etc.

Re: More than 100 arrested in Spain in $900k WhatsApp scheme

#53

Post by Jensson »

a_random_canuck wrote: post #50
Aurornis wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the article: > The scammers were so convincing that in most cases, they managed to get continuous payments from their victims, according to the police. They managed to secure continuous income streams of free money by talking to people on their phones. It’s extra money and surely they planned on doing more scams. That’s the motivation. > Spain's GDP per capita is $30,000, and I'd assume they'd been doing it for…

> They managed to secure continuous income streams of free money by talking to people on their phones. It’s extra money and surely they planned on doing more scams. That’s the motivation. Doesn’t this pretty much describe a sales job? Except the product they are selling doesn’t exist.

Not having to deliver a product is what lets scams scale much better than sales.

Re: More than 100 arrested in Spain in $900k WhatsApp scheme

#54

Post by Wytwwww »

hmaxwell wrote: post #3
psychlops wrote: post #2

"The fraudsters also registered nearly 100 phone numbers using false identities." Is it really a WhatsApp scheme? I thought the purpose of phone numbers now is to tie them to an actual person.

you would think, but apparently anyone can now download an app called "talkatone" that gives you a free phone number to make calls and send texts with

In some countries you can still buy prepaid cards which don't required any registration etc. and can be used across the entire EU anonymously.

Re: More than 100 arrested in Spain in $900k WhatsApp scheme

#55

Post by qingcharles »

joegibbs wrote: post #35

They only got $9000 each? That seems like a very small amount of money for a lot of work, and it's probably not getting divided up equally either. What's their motivation to get into this kind of scam? Spain's GDP per capita is $30,000, and I'd assume they'd been doing it for at least 6 months, so they're not even making an average wage.

A lot of criminals would make more with a real job. Sometimes it is cultural (having a real job is seen as weak). Sometimes the crime seems like it would make more money than it actually does for the work input.

I asked one 19-year-old defendant who had just been given a 30-year sentence for armed robbery with an AK-47 how much he actually got from the robbery? "$2000. $1000 for me, $1000 for my cousin." Ugh :(

Re: More than 100 arrested in Spain in $900k WhatsApp scheme

#56

Post by nicolas_t »

WhyNotHugo wrote: post #48
EnigmaFlare wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish there was more promotion of the simple way to protect yourself from most scams - if someone initiates contact with you, contact them back through a channel you found independently in a way you already trust. My bank keeps warning me of scams and has a list of ways to protect yourself, but they're stupid things like check if the message is from a mobile number, and does it sound too good to be true? They don't…

I got a call once where the guy said he was from a bank. He said he wanted to verify who I was, so was going to ask me some personal details. I replied "you're the one calling me, how do I know you're really from the bank?". He sounded amused by my reply, commented that my stance was quite uncommon, but I had made a fair point. He said I'd get a message via the bank's webapp, with a phone number where I could call hi…

I’ve had a similar experience except that the person was clearly irritated at my response. He cut the call and I was only able to confirm that the call was legitimate because I asked my relationship manager at the bank.

Re: More than 100 arrested in Spain in $900k WhatsApp scheme

#57

Post by brittlecode »

joegibbs wrote: post #35

They only got $9000 each? That seems like a very small amount of money for a lot of work, and it's probably not getting divided up equally either. What's their motivation to get into this kind of scam? Spain's GDP per capita is $30,000, and I'd assume they'd been doing it for at least 6 months, so they're not even making an average wage.

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