Daily fraud update: 17th March

Toyota reveals new product for blockchain fraud space

Car manufacturer Toyota has announced an all-new product for the blockchain world.

It revealed last year that it would set up a blockchain research area of business operations called the Toyota Blockchain Lab.

It has now told the markets that it had worked alongside a blockchain industry start-up firm called BUIDL, which is associated with the American security token platform Securitize.

The pair of firms have developed a new platform offering personal identification and vehicle identification functions, and it has gone through the testing phase successfully.

The potential use cases for each strand of the new blockchain-powered anti-fraud devices are diverse.

It is understood that the personal identification service could be used for digital certificate management, for example.

The equivalent one for vehicles is expected to be used for maintenance record-keeping and more.

Coronavirus cybercrime threats are “disgusting”, says tech expert

A range of new cybercrime risks have been flagged in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The pandemic – which has spread to many parts of the world and which is causing governments to take unprecedented action with regards to borders, movement and normal economic processes – is also causing problems when it comes to malware and hacking.

It is understood that in some cases, cybercriminals are targeting hospitals with malware.

This led to Joseph Steinberg, who has previously written about crypto, publicly criticising those who sought to exploit the crisis.

Steinberg, who describes himself on his Twitter profile biography as an “Independent Thinker, Columnist, and Author” and an Advisor to firms in a range of industries including cybersecurity and privacy, made the comments on the platform.

“There are cyber-criminals currently targeting hospitals with ransomware. During the corona virus pandemic”, he wrote.

“Human beings can really be disgusting”. he added.

Nigeria faces crypto Ponzi scheme crisis

Law enforcement officials in the sub-Saharan African country of Nigeria have revealed that they are facing a crisis as they cannot keep up with the number of crypto Ponzi schemes believed to be running in the country.

News reports from Nigeria suggest that there are a range of crypto investment schemes available for Nigerians to choose from – but that many are transpiring to be fraudulent in nature.

There is some consternation in the country that regulators are not doing enough to combat the crisis.

Anthony Ogbo, a cybersecurity expert, even went as far as to say that the authorities are “lethargic”.

“Unfortunately, we lack the ability to keep up with the fast-changing digital space. And the authorities are not helping matters; they are so lethargic”, he was quoted as saying.

According to the crypto press, one victim went to the police with a claim that he had been defrauded out of an amount of cash.

However, the police appeared to be unable to help him – and he claimed that he did not receive redress for what happened.

Chris Lee

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