The theft of unemployment benefits in the United States, allocated after the passage of the CARES Act and aimed at overcoming the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic back in the days of Donald Trump, has become the largest crime in human history. Longread, dedicated to three years of fighting against fraudsters, published the authoritative magazine Rolling Stone.
The publication recalled that as part of the Trump initiative, $ 2.2 trillion was poured into the American economy in the form of benefits. Almost half of this amount, according to journalists' calculations, ended up in the pockets and accounts of cybercriminals, carders and scammers. As an illustration, journalists cited stories of people who managed to steal tens of millions of dollars: among them were high-ranking government officials and scammers who are hiding behind helping children, already serving their sentences. In addition, there are known cases of receiving benefits by people who introduced themselves as John Doe and Poopy Pants.
“According to the government's own calculations, we have given away about $16.2 billion to people with suspicious email requests; $267 million has been sent to federal prisoners, some of whom are on death row; nearly $29 billion more to people living in multiple states at the same time; we even sent over $139 million to the dead. California alone is hosting a whopping $20 billion in unemployment insurance fraud during the pandemic.
At the same time, according to data received from the US government, the real extent of theft will become known only in a few years. This is all due to the same outdated and clumsy personal identification system, based largely on trust, and not on real checks. At the same time, thousands or tens of thousands of people did not receive their benefits, thousands lost them, already holding the coveted cards, and thousands of fraudsters behind this got rich and will most likely never be punished.
Retired hacker Brett Johnson also marveled at both the government's carelessness and the appetites of cybercriminals. He admitted he was shocked to see 16-year-olds on Telegram posting videos on how to steal during the pandemic.
“You don't need to know anything to get into the game and start making profits right away. Now criminals do not even need to be sophisticated - they handed out money just like that, put your hand out and take it, ”Johnson stated.
The experts interviewed by the publication see a way out in the introduction of new authentication principles and improved interaction between the federal government and the authorities of individual states. In addition, in their opinion, it is necessary to develop analytical tools that will help automate the processes associated with the issuance of benefits and their safe storage on the cards of end recipients.
The publication recalled that as part of the Trump initiative, $ 2.2 trillion was poured into the American economy in the form of benefits. Almost half of this amount, according to journalists' calculations, ended up in the pockets and accounts of cybercriminals, carders and scammers. As an illustration, journalists cited stories of people who managed to steal tens of millions of dollars: among them were high-ranking government officials and scammers who are hiding behind helping children, already serving their sentences. In addition, there are known cases of receiving benefits by people who introduced themselves as John Doe and Poopy Pants.
“According to the government's own calculations, we have given away about $16.2 billion to people with suspicious email requests; $267 million has been sent to federal prisoners, some of whom are on death row; nearly $29 billion more to people living in multiple states at the same time; we even sent over $139 million to the dead. California alone is hosting a whopping $20 billion in unemployment insurance fraud during the pandemic.
At the same time, according to data received from the US government, the real extent of theft will become known only in a few years. This is all due to the same outdated and clumsy personal identification system, based largely on trust, and not on real checks. At the same time, thousands or tens of thousands of people did not receive their benefits, thousands lost them, already holding the coveted cards, and thousands of fraudsters behind this got rich and will most likely never be punished.
Retired hacker Brett Johnson also marveled at both the government's carelessness and the appetites of cybercriminals. He admitted he was shocked to see 16-year-olds on Telegram posting videos on how to steal during the pandemic.
“You don't need to know anything to get into the game and start making profits right away. Now criminals do not even need to be sophisticated - they handed out money just like that, put your hand out and take it, ”Johnson stated.
The experts interviewed by the publication see a way out in the introduction of new authentication principles and improved interaction between the federal government and the authorities of individual states. In addition, in their opinion, it is necessary to develop analytical tools that will help automate the processes associated with the issuance of benefits and their safe storage on the cards of end recipients.
