"The scheme involved setting up thousands of fake business accounts on Google for electrical repairs, plumbing, HVAC installation, etcetera. Bernath and his accomplices would then submit false five-star ratings and reviews. Victims would call after seeing a service's sponsored ad on Google and pay over the phone for specialists who never appeared."
"One man was scammed after searching for "Electrical Service in Horton Texas" and later showed up to complain at the listed address, which turned out to be a donut shop. He was so ticked off that he dug into the Illinois-based company's business records and reached overseas customer support to cancel a subscription. As an example of what it took."
"And the man was not alone. The DOJ alleges that more than 100,000 Americans called the fake services supplier and tens of millions of dollars may have been stolen."
"ICE gets it through a partnership with Palantir, which, according to Matthew Elliston, assistant director of law enforcement systems and analysis at ICE, has increased the enforcement agency's success rate for locating targets from roughly 27% to nearly 80%."
Thousands of fake business accounts were created on Google for electrical repairs, plumbing, and HVAC installation. False five-star ratings and reviews were submitted to make the services appear legitimate. Victims searched for sponsored ads, called the listed numbers, and paid by phone for specialists who never arrived. One victim searched for an electrical service in Horton, Texas, went to the listed address, and found a donut shop instead, then investigated the company’s records and contacted overseas support to cancel a subscription. The DOJ alleges more than 100,000 Americans called the fake services supplier and tens of millions of dollars may have been stolen. Separately, ICE uses device data through a Palantir partnership to increase target location success rates from about 27% to nearly 80%. TikTok is also adding trip booking through its platform, creating a closed-loop experience that can generate purchase data.
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