Teenager Used Google Ads To Scam $ 3 Million In Bitcoin

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A British teenager has been convicted of setting up a phishing site and using Google Ads to scam buyers. His scam earned him nearly $ 3 million in Bitcoin.

A British teenager has been convicted of setting up a phishing site and using Google Ads to scam buyers. Cybercrime has increased throughout the pandemic, and phishing has become one of the most persistent problems law enforcement around the world is trying to tackle. Cryptocurrency scams and ransomware attacks are also on the rise, with many cases coming to light in recent times.

One of the biggest ransomware attacks this year was the Colonial Pipeline hack that caused massive fuel shortages across large areas of the United States earlier this year. Other reports suggest that scammers are targeting romantic singles to implement crypto scams through well-known dating apps, such as Tinder, Bumble, and Grindr. Criminals also use SIM swap scams and use AI voice cloning techniques to defraud millions of dollars from banks.

Related: How SIM Card Swap Scams Work & How To Protect Yourself

A new report from the UK now suggests serious cybercrime isn’t just about hardened criminals with a plethora of tech tools. According to the report, a seventeen-year-old boy from the Lincolnshire area of ​​England last year set up a fake website to collect credit card details from hundreds of victims. His elaborate scam reportedly earned him a ton of money which is now worth almost $ 3 million. According to a statement released earlier this week by Lincolnshire Police, the teenager was arrested on August 14, 2020 as part of a money laundering and fraud investigation for the scam which took place from 9-16 April of this year.

Police confiscated 48 bitcoins and cryptocurrencies worth nearly $ 3 million

As part of their investigation, Lincolnshire Police said they seized “48 Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies” which would be worth nearly $ 3 million at the current valuation. Describing the modus operandi, police said the boy set up a phishing website masquerading as a popular gift voucher site called “Love2Shop” for the sole purpose of stealing credit card information and credit codes. exchanging gift certificates from unsuspecting buyers. He then bought Google Ads for this bogus site, which meant it appeared higher than the real site in the search results. The teenager is said to have gathered a large amount of personal information through his elaborate system, including more than 12,000 credit card numbers and 197 connections to a Paypal account.

According to the report, the boy was able to get £ 6,539 (around $ 9,000) in discount codes during the life of his site. The vouchers were then converted into Love2Shop gift cards, which the teenager then used to purchase cryptocurrency in order to confuse the police. The site was reportedly only active for one week, from April 9 to April 16 of last year. It was removed after Love2shop began investigating following a customer complaint. During the police investigation, he admitted to having been charged with money laundering and “fraud by misrepresentation”, but is not due to serve a prison sentence due to his age. Instead, he was sentenced earlier this week to a 12-month-old youth rehabilitation program.

Next: Don’t Fall For Fake Dating Sites: How To Spot & Avoid Getting Scammed

Source: Lincolnshire Police, LincolnshireLive

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