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telecommunications
AI Scams AI tools Cyber Security CyberCrime Fake Documents financial scams Fraud Online fraud SE Asia SIM telecommunications

Tamil Nadu Police, DoT Target SIM Card Fraud in SE Asia with AI Tools

 

The Cyber Crime Wing of Tamil Nadu Police, in collaboration with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), is intensifying efforts to combat online fraud by targeting thousands of pre-activated SIM cards used in South-East Asian countries, particularly Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. These SIM cards have been linked to numerous cybercrimes involving fraudulent calls and scams targeting individuals in Tamil Nadu. 

According to police sources, investigators employed Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to identify pre-activated SIM cards registered with fake documents in Tamil Nadu but active in international locations. These cards were commonly used by scammers to commit fraud by making calls to unsuspecting victims in the State. The scams ranged from fake online trading opportunities to fraudulent credit or debit card upgrades. A senior official in the Cyber Crime Wing explained that a significant discrepancy was observed between the number of subscribers who officially activated international roaming services and the actual number of SIM cards being used abroad. 

The department is now working closely with central agencies to detect and block suspicious SIM cards.  The use of AI has proven instrumental in identifying mobile numbers involved in a disproportionately high volume of calls into Tamil Nadu. Numbers flagged by AI analysis undergo further investigation, and if credible evidence links them to cybercrimes, the SIM cards are promptly deactivated. The crackdown follows a series of high-profile scams that have defrauded individuals of significant amounts of money. 

For example, in Madurai, an advocate lost ₹96.57 lakh in June after responding to a WhatsApp advertisement promoting international share market trading with high returns. In another case, a government doctor was defrauded of ₹76.5 lakh through a similar investment scam. Special investigation teams formed by the Cyber Crime Wing have been successful in arresting several individuals linked to these fraudulent activities. Recently, a team probing ₹38.28 lakh frozen in various bank accounts apprehended six suspects. 

Following their interrogation, two additional suspects, Abdul Rahman from Melur and Sulthan Abdul Kadar from Madurai, were arrested. Authorities are also collaborating with police in North Indian states to apprehend more suspects tied to accounts through which the defrauded money was transacted. Investigations are ongoing in multiple cases, and the police aim to dismantle the network of fraudsters operating both within India and abroad. 

These efforts underscore the importance of using advanced technology like AI to counter increasingly sophisticated cybercrime tactics. By addressing vulnerabilities such as fraudulent SIM cards, Tamil Nadu’s Cyber Crime Wing is taking significant steps to protect citizens and mitigate financial losses.
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Misinformation
Cyber Security Europol Fake Documents Malicious actor McAfee Misinformation

According to Europol, Deepfakes are Used Frequently in Organized Crime

 

The Europol Innovation Lab recently released its inaugural report, titled "Facing reality? Law enforcement and the challenge of deepfakes", as part of its Observatory function. The paper presents a full overview of the illegal use of deepfake technology, as well as the obstacles faced by law enforcement in identifying and preventing the malicious use of deepfakes, based on significant desk research and in-depth interaction with law enforcement specialists. 

Deepfakes are audio and audio-visual consents that "convincingly show individuals expressing or doing activities they never did, or build personalities which never existed in the first place" using artificial intelligence. Deepfakes are being utilized for malevolent purposes in three important areas, according to the study: disinformation, non-consensual obscenity, and document fraud. As technology further advances in the near future, it is predicted such attacks would become more realistic and dangerous.

  1. Disinformation: Europol provided several examples of how deepfakes could be used to distribute false information, with potentially disastrous results. In the geopolitical domain, for example, producing a phony emergency warning that warns of an oncoming attack. The US charged the Kremlin with a disinformation scheme to use as a pretext for an invasion of Ukraine in February, just before the crisis between Russia and Ukraine erupted.  The technique may also be used to attack corporations, for example, by constructing a video or audio deepfake which makes it appear as if a company's leader committed contentious or unlawful conduct. Criminals imitating the voice of the top executive of an energy firm robbed the company of $243,000. 
  2. Non-consensual obscenity: According to the analysis, Sensity found non-consensual obscenity was present in 96 percent of phony videos. This usually entails superimposing a victim's face onto the body of a philanderer, giving the impression of the victim is performing the act.
  3. Document fraud: While current fraud protection techniques are making it more difficult to fake passports, the survey stated that "synthetic media and digitally modified facial photos present a new way for document fraud." These technologies, for example, can mix or morph the faces of the person who owns the passport and the person who wants to obtain one illegally, boosting the likelihood the photo will pass screening, including automatic ones. 

Deepfakes might also harm the court system, according to the paper, by artificially manipulating or producing media to show or deny someone's guilt. In a recent child custody dispute, a mother of a kid edited an audiotape of her husband to persuade the court he was abusive to her. 

Europol stated all law enforcement organizations must acquire new skills and tools to properly deal with these types of threats. Manual detection strategies, such as looking for discrepancies, and automatic detection techniques, such as deepfake detection software uses artificial intelligence and is being developed by companies like Facebook and McAfee, are among them. 

It is quite conceivable that malicious threat actors would employ deepfake technology to assist various criminal crimes and undertake misinformation campaigns to influence or corrupt public opinion in the months and years ahead. Machine learning and artificial intelligence advancements will continue to improve the software used to make deepfakes.
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Migrant Smugglers
Cyber Crime Dark Web Europol Fake Documents Migrant Smugglers

Europol Dismantles Criminal Network Distributing Forged EU Travel Documents on Dark Web

 

The Spanish National Police and the French Border Police, in a joint operation coordinated by Europol, have busted an organized cybercrime gang involved in the procurement and distribution of forged travel and ID documents for migrant smugglers. 

During the raids, in which three house searches were carried out and a total of 17 people were arrested, police seized computers, smartphones, storage devices, counterfeit and genuine ID documents and photocopies of ID documents, labor certificates, administrative documents, payment cards, and cash. 

According to a press release published by European Union’s law enforcement agency, the organized cybercrime gang network distributed forged ID and travel documents in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. 

“The documents were used by other criminals involved in the smuggling of migrants to the US, the UK and Ireland and other criminal activities (such as property crimes, trafficking in human beings, drug trafficking),” the statement of Europol reads. The criminal network was directly involved in migrant smuggling activities and logistical arrangements in return for payments starting at €8000 ($9000) per person.” 

The members of the criminal gang, mainly originating from Eastern European countries, apparently also operated in Georgia and Lithuania. According to Europol, cybercriminals mainly used dark web channels to distribute forged documents, including residence permits, vehicle registration documents, driver’s licenses, and travel documents focusing on French, Romanian, Georgian, Lithuanian, and Polish IDs. 

Additionally, the suspects used instant messaging apps and postal services to send the documents to their intended recipients. Messaging apps, presumably encrypted ones, were used by the group to collaborate and exchange images of documents, vehicles, and money transfer slips. Europol analysts said they linked some of this information to other ongoing investigations. 

Last year witnessed a gradual shift in the methodology employed by migrant smugglers in the trafficking of human beings. Digital technology is playing a major role in the operations of migrant smugglers and they have expanded their use of social media platforms and mobile applications in order to offer their illegal services.  

Human traffickers have exploited the anonymity of the internet environment to target vulnerable individuals and then exploit them via both escort websites and even dating platforms. To counter this new threat, Europol signed a working agreement with the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) designed to formalize cooperation on this and other serious and organized crimes.
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