Month: April 2022

Accounts deceivable: Email scam costliest type of cybercrime

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Read time : 6 mins

Level : Advanced

By ALAN SUDERMAN Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A shopping spree in Beverly Hills, a luxury vacation in Mexico, a bank account that jumped from $299.77 to $1.4 million overnight.

From the outside, it looked like Moe and Kateryna Abourched had won the lottery.

But this big payday didn’t come from lucky numbers. Rather, a public school district in Michigan was tricked into wiring its monthly health insurance payment to the bank account of a California nail salon the Abourcheds owned, according to a search warrant application filed by a Secret Service agent in federal court.

The district — and taxpayers — fell victim to an online scam called Business Email Compromise, or BEC for short, police say. The couple deny any wrongdoing and have not been charged with any crimes. Continue reading

Got a dime? Businesses seek Treasury help with coin shortage

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

(AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Got a dime you can spare? Coins are in short supply — again.

Retailers, laundromats and other businesses that rely on coins want Americans to empty their piggy banks and look under couch cushions for extra change and “get coin moving.”

A group of trade associations that represent individual businesses including banks, retail outlets, truck stops, grocery stores and more is asking the Treasury Department for more help convincing Americans to get coins back in circulation.

The consequences of the circulation slowdown hit people who don’t have an ability to pay for items electronically, they say. Continue reading

Russia war could further escalate auto prices and shortages

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

(AP Photo/dapd/ Michael Latz,file)

By TOM KRISHER and KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writers

DETROIT (AP) — BMW has halted production at two German factories. Mercedes is slowing work at its assembly plants. Volkswagen, warning of production stoppages, is looking for alternative sources for parts.

For more than a year, the global auto industry has struggled with a disastrous shortage of computer chips and other vital parts that has shrunk production, slowed deliveries and sent prices for new and used cars soaring beyond reach for millions of consumers.

Now, a new factor — Russia’s war against Ukraine — has thrown up yet another obstacle. Critically important electrical wiring, made in Ukraine, is suddenly out of reach. With buyer demand high, materials scarce and the war causing new disruptions, vehicle prices are expected to head even higher well into next year. Continue reading