Five men accused of leading a Black Axe cybercrime cell—Perry Osagiede, Franklyn Osagiede, Osariemen Clement, Collins Otughwor, and Musa Mudashiru—have been extradited from South Africa to the US to face wire fraud and money laundering charges. Prosecutors say the group ran romance scams and advance-fee schemes targeting American victims from Cape Town between 2011 and 2021, using fake identities, dating sites, and VoIP numbers, and blackmailing victims with threats to leak intimate photos when they resisted paying.
bleepingcomputer.com
· 2026-09-15
New research indicates that scammers using AI-generated voices that mimic a target's own accent are more effective at deceiving victims than generic synthetic voices. The findings suggest that accent-matching adds a layer of perceived familiarity and trust that makes fraudulent calls more convincing.
wsj.com
· 2026-09-13
A free application designed to identify and flag suspicious phone calls and messages is being highlighted as a defense against increasingly sophisticated scams. The tool works across both major mobile platforms, giving users a way to screen for fraud attempts before falling victim to them.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-11
Security experts warn that travel scams have become more sophisticated than traditional pickpocketing, targeting vacationers through new digital and in-person deception methods. They are urging travelers to adopt updated precautions before and during trips to avoid falling victim to these schemes.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-10
Security researchers have identified a scam operation dubbed 'Phantom Deal' that targets large enterprises by impersonating merger and acquisition activity. The attackers conduct deep research into target companies before approaching midlevel employees with fabricated deal scenarios designed to authorize large financial transfers.
darkreading.com
· 2026-09-03
Fraudsters are increasingly using dating apps to build fake romantic relationships, presenting themselves as wealthy, charming and committed partners before manipulating victims into handing over money. These scams often unfold over weeks or months as trust is deliberately cultivated before the financial ask.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-03
Security researchers are flagging a fresh wave of email scams that no longer follow the old telltale patterns like poor grammar or suspicious links. These updated schemes are polished, convincing, and designed to slip past users who rely on outdated advice from corporate IT departments.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-08-31
Victims across China report losing between $1,500 and $300,000 after scammers posed as romantic partners or professionals and moved conversations from social platforms onto Microsoft Teams using shared login credentials. Once trust was established, the scammers pitched cryptocurrency investments and disappeared with victims' money, leaving them unable to access chat records for police reports since they never controlled the accounts themselves. Local Chinese law enforcement agencies have begun warning the public that Teams is being used as a fraud tool, and platforms like Maimai now flag messages mentioning Teams or Skype as high-risk.
wired.com
· 2026-08-28
Interpol conducted an eight-month operation, dubbed Jackal IV, from November 2025 to June 2026 targeting the global support networks enabling West African cybercrime syndicates like Black Axe. The effort spanned 22 countries across six continents, resulting in 58 arrests and the identification of 263 suspects linked to romance scams, crypto fraud, business email compromise, and violent crimes. In Argentina alone, authorities uncovered a crime-as-a-service network supplying domains and money laundering to these gangs, identifying about 200 people and arresting 17.
techspot.com
· 2026-08-25
Police from 22 countries collaborated to identify 263 suspects and arrest 58 people connected to West African cybercrime syndicates, including the Black Axe organization known for romance scams, crypto fraud and business email compromise schemes. Argentina, South Africa, Romania and Italy each contributed arrests and seizures, including $2.67 million confiscated from a group targeting retirees, while investigators also uncovered a Crime-as-a-Service network supplying domains and money-laundering support to organized crime groups.
bleepingcomputer.com
· 2026-08-25
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