Next move?

I might get back to you about a group of scammers who are running a refund scam from Kolkata. Would you have any media contacts there?

Jim Browning

Hey, Jim. I'm Avi. I am a resident of Bangalore. Love what you do. I'm afraid, legally, there's nothing you can do about this. Being a local, I don't think even I can do anything about this. I am pretty sure these idiots do what they do under the protection of the local police. What you can do, though, is contact the local media; I might be a bit of help for you here and work it from there. (I have seen media supporting a Kiwi YouTuber, Karl Rock, in uncovering some of the common street scams). You might not get them legally, but you can seriously hamper their business. Let me know if you need my help with anything. :)

This is almost certain to be a phishing scam. I'll bet the link that was sent with that message won't link to Apple.com, but to something else which will capture your username and password. As for $2, I don't have this as a level, but I think you can enter any value you like when sponsoring on Patreon. Thank you again for your support!

Jim Browning

Dear c0@yahoo.ca, Case ID :9Pp52pblr681w9j Subscriptions updates For your safety,your Apple ID has been locked because we found some suspicious activity on your account.Someone accessing your account and make some change on your account information. This the details : Country : Zimbabwe IP Address : 254.146.56.204 Date and Time : 8/11/2018 8:30:38 PM Browser : UC Browser If you did not make these action or you believe an unauthorized person has accessed your account, you should login to your account as soon as possible to verify your information. View Account Information Regard

Hey there, sorry to be a pest, but how to I support you with $2 a month (sorry, but there are other online sites I try to support.) I also made the mistake of saying I like Apple computers because scammers seem to avoid them BUT then I got this. I don't like it as it doesn't coincide with any of my online activities BUT in another letter it said it locked the acct because Zimbabwae was trying? Does it sound familiar?

I tried tweeting Donal MacIntyre… no response (yet!)

Jim Browning

I'm still missing some information on this group of scammers, so I'm not going to reveal their details just yet. I've involved a couple of others who may be able to gather a little more information and the hope is that we can point the right people to this group. I have someone in Kolkata who is prepared to work with their local media. This may be the best route.

Jim Browning

Maybe you should publish the details on Twitter w/o blurring. If the authorities won't get involved, the best that can be done is awareness to the masses & possible shaming of the scammer. Can you expose them via social media or local media? My $.02 anyhow.

I will.... Thanks Angel.

Jim Browning

Jim, Try this <a href="https://www.interpol.int/Member-countries/Asia-South-Pacific/India" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.interpol.int/Member-countries/Asia-South-Pacific/India</a>

Posting it on YouTube may backfire on you. Especially since you're not doing it annonimously. You may aggravate them enough to send someone after you. I'm afraid this is serious! They have plenty of resources (financial) to do harm to you. As many suggested, passing it on to a media will be the most-effective way of exposing the scam and keep yourself safe on my opinion. And why not make some money off of it. Well deserved money, I'd say.

Thank you for all of these suggestions. Some of them are definitely worth pursuing. I'll try multiple routes with these guys. I'd really like to see some positive action when everything is just laid out on a plate. Thank you all.

Jim Browning

Jim, what's the matter with you. surely, Donal MacIntyre is the guy to contact. I reckon his crew would pay you handsomely for all that.

Hugh Jardon

I would recommend going to a news outlet or anything related to it. They will be interested in this information and you can be protected as a source. The evidence you have is not gotten through legal means, which means the police or any government institution probably can’t use it to get a warrant.

Take your information to an investigative journalist. Many police rules would disallow your evidence owing to court evidentiary limitations. A reporter can work independently.

Sent you some info on Skype Jim, but the best link I sent would be this one: <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/legal-attache-offices" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/legal-attache-offices</a> It's the FBI, and since there are US victims, I think they would take the info!

Pass the information on to other groups that call up these "call centers" and wipe their computers systems with nasty little bugs

I would suggest approaching BBC Panorama or the Sunday Times Insight team - you've got plenty of material for an interesting investigative report on the scale of the problem and what little is being done on the ground. Whether there is any point in pursuing this through the justice system I cannot say but you could hand in a bundle of evidence and an affidavit to the NFIB. In addition, you might be lucky to find some scammers have interests in the UK and the victims could have something to hang civil proceedings on.

CBC in Canada did a great expose on CRA scammers last year and it generated a lot of attention. As LM suggests many other programs would also be interested. Plus never discount the value of investigative journalists such as at The Guardian. Besides their ability to report accurately they also have contacts across many governments MI5 type agencies. And they respect and hold safe anonymity requests.

Carol Chapman

Oh wait, you are not in the US. Whatever your countries version of the FBI.

Matt Standish

If the FBI won't help then I would contact someone in the media.

Matt Standish

I second the FBI involvement. They could already be building a case and this would help.

Matt Standish

I agree. A good investigative TV programme would also bring to the attention of the wider public as well as sending a rocket up the various police forces.

Naaa, none of that... You're skilled AND talented. I have to believe the right 20/20, 60 Minutes, Editorial style program would *love* to do a segment that exposes such a menace that so many Americans identify with on a constant basis. Imagine if you fed their logistics staff all the details they needed so that their "Man on the Scene" could confront them with a camera and microphone in their faces. Public Humility goes far further than trying to push legal trouble across international borders. Yes! Knock on a few home addresses and ask a few questions while recording! That would make them stay away from that kind of business!

Victims are in US, UK and AU. I might try all of the suggestions above... Perhaps with the exception of paying them a non-virtual visit. Thanks.

Jim Browning

Interpol... Start researching and looking into Interpol and an agent that would be willing to work with you directly! I'm sure they have a few that would love to make a big international BUST! Look Into It! Interpol !

Fred Fernandez

Reporting to Indian "authorities" will get you nowhere. Scammers are a net gain for India. I don't know what you should do.... Costing them money is the only way to have any actual effect.

Interpol? Its work focuses primarily on public safety and battling transnational crimes, cybercrime being one of them.

Book a flight over to India? Would make a great documentary series :)

I suppose the only thing you could try is reporting to as many people as you can. Even if they don’t listen, the information is there. If you have victim details then that’s useful, so you can call them. If the law enforcement won’t listen, who will?

You can try to involve the FBI if one of the victims is a US resident.