Trusting Sophisticated Cybercriminals: A Risky Approach in Data Breach Responses

Data Breach? Sure, You Will Get Your Money From the “Butcher”

Armand here, RPost’s armadillo product evangelist. I was struck by a notification from a company that faced a data breach due to cybercriminal activity. In their breach notice, the breached company wrote, “…has taken steps to ensure that the stolen data will not be publicly shared or used maliciously."

This is based on the belief that the people responsible are a sophisticated criminal “business” that must be reputable to function in cybercriminal activities.”

I then contrasted this to the Black Axe, an infamous Nigerian-original cybercriminal cabal that is terrorizing (financially) law firms, real estate companies, and pretty much all businesses that send money with trickier AI-powered-up impersonation schemes.

While there is little information on the structure and hierarchy of the group, if you research this mafia-style global criminal gang, it is reported to be structured with these roles:

• Priest – overall leader
• Chairman – an elected officer
• Eyes – responsible for keeping an eye out for police at different events and initiation
• Criers – responsible for publicity, including fliers and emails
• Butchers – responsible for enforcing the rules, punishing members, and fighting rival confraternities

Now, consider trying to get your money back from the “butchers” or trying to negotiate with the “Criers” to get your data back!??

Think about this while you peruse this cybercriminal story (I’ve included a sample below - (read more here) published by the real estate title insurance industry association, the American Land Title Association related to an RPost Technology thwarted vacant lot sale impersonation fraud. Looking at the tactics here, it is almost surely related to the Black Axe cabal.

With Seller Impersonation Fraud attempts continuing to increase over the past year, it’s vitally important that title and settlement companies remain vigilant in identifying these scams.

While criminals are using artificial intelligence to carry out some of these fraudulent deals, title companies are implementing similar technology to counter the illicit acts. One example is Houghton, Mich.-based Transnation Title Agency. With the aid of RPost’s AI-infused email security platform called RMail, the title company stopped a seller impersonation attempt prior to closing.

Barb Cormier, part owner of Transnation Title Agency, said her company received an order for a vacant, waterfront property allegedly owned by an international seller. The real owner lives and works as a professor in Dublin, Ireland. The criminal used that information to help show the deal was legit.

An initial red flag spurred Cormier to call the seller. After a few conversations, Cormier said there were no clear signs of fraud and provided by email an ID that seemed legit. So, the deal proceeded for the time being and the buyer pre-signed the documents and moved the funds.

Everything appeared in order, but the afternoon before closing, the RMail system detected an anomaly on an email sent to the seller with final steps for the scheduled closing. The seller was now opening emails from a network in Lagos, Nigeria, “which is a known hotspot for impersonation fraud.”

RPost technology strengthens email security by embedding specialized fraud trackers into all outbound emails, enabling real-time detection of criminal eavesdropping and impersonation fraud. These trackers ping RPost servers each time there is activity on the message after it has been delivered, sending back a variety of data points. Real-time APIs run checks across internal and external databases, assessing key risk factors such as location, network, domain age, language translations, and other proprietary indicators. This data is then analyzed using advanced AI, which evaluates the risk associated with the email based on the customer’s risk profile.

Read more about RPost’s RMail Targeted Attack Pre-emption technology and services.

Read the original story on the American Land Title Association website

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