FTC Says Scammers Stole Millions, Using Virtual Companies

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Yahoo News:

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has disrupted a long-running online scam that allowed offshore fraudsters to steal millions of dollars from U.S. consumers -- often by taking just pennies at a time.

The scam, which had been run for about four years, according to the FTC, provides a case lesson in how many of the online services used to lubricate business in the 21st century can equally be misused for fraud.

"It was a very patient scam," said Steve Wernikoff, a staff attorney with the FTC who is prosecuting the case. "The people who are behind this are very meticulous."

The FTC has not identified those responsible for the fraud, but in March, it quietly filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Illinois. This has frozen the gang's U.S. assets and also allowed the FTC to shut down merchant accounts and 14 "money mules" -- U.S. residents recruited by the criminals to move money offshore to countries such as Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Estonia.

"We're going to aggressively seek to identify the ultimate masterminds behind this scheme," Wernikoff said. According to him, the scammers found loopholes in the credit card processing system that allowed them to set up fake U.S. companies that then ran more than a million phony credit card transactions through legitimate credit card processing companies.

Wernikoff doesn't know where the scammers obtained the credit card numbers they charged, but they could have been purchased from online carder forums, black market Web sites where criminal buy and sell stolen information.

Small Thefts Overlooked

The scammers stayed under the radar by charging very small amounts -- typically between $0.25 and $9 per card -- and by setting up more than 100 bogus companies to process the transactions.
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Kind of gives new meaning to "Penny pinching."

[Argyle58]

Beware any stories like this coming from the FTC during this administration......they are on a power grab to rival the EPA and the FCC. They are actually in competition with the FCC for the power to regulate the internet. Claiming to have authority over ANY business (Business = Trade by their definition) they have expanded regulations on record keeping citing laws that were passed by Congress to regulate Wall Street Traders to cover any business that keeps private financial information on their customers....virtually every business in America.

 

 

Scammers.......what irony.

[Pepper]

Argyle58

WestVirginiaRebel

 

FROM

 

http://ftc.gov/os/caselist/0923051/index.shtm

 

"Defendant" or "Defendants" means API Trade LLC; ARA Auto Parts Trading LLC; Bend Transfer Services, LLC; B-Texas European, LLC; CBTC LLC; CMG Global LLC; Confident Incorporation; HDPL Trade LLC; Hometown Homebuyers, LLC; lAS Group LLC; mc Trade LLC; MZ Services, LLC; New World Enterprizes, LLC; Parts Imports LLC; SMI Imports, LLC; and SVT Services, LLC, and each of them, by whatever names each may be known, and their successors and assigns, and any subsidiaries, affiliates, and any fictitious business entities or business names created or used by them.

 

 

See page 8 of the pdf file

 

The billing statements that consumers receive for their credit or debit cards

contain the name of the merchant that charged them. Defendant( s) Doe have used almost 100

different merchant identifiers for those charges or debits, including the following:

 

ACM Eureka MARX Site Services

Adele Services Extra Path Mera Source Limited

Advanced Global Tech Form Limited MFG Standard Six

AEI Foto Fast Name Services SYS INC

Albion Group Gamma NETI System Development

Alpha Cell GFDL New Eight Terra

ALS GLOBO Office Development THO

ALSLLC Green Stone Office Services TlMO

BEl Harry Dean OM Extra TLC Inc.

BIT HBS ONE Union Green

BusinessWorks Home Port Online Group United Services

Center Company Homebase Prc Services VIVOS

Centr Limited ICH Services Presi WELLE

Centrum Group IHS Rasna Will Services

CFM Image Company RSIPartners World Trade

CFR Image Services RSS Inc. World Wide Services

COS IPS Safeworks YES

Data Services ISSO Search Company

Den Enterprises IVA Search Group

Dgen Lang Group Search Management

Digest Limited Light Flow Search Services

Don Partners Link Group SFR

DwellTech Link Services Sigma

Edge List Services Site Group

ESTA Mark Silver Site Management