By MATT BURGES
When online romance and sextortion scammers sense they’ve found a victim who may send them money, they’ll use all kinds of villainous methods to get paid. They’ll frequently stoop to blackmail—and are constantly creating more devious approaches to incorporate it into their grifts. In recent months, cybercriminals have taken their blackmailing efforts up a notch, creating realistic-looking “news” videos that claim their victims are wanted for crimes.
Scammers based in West Africa, likely in Nigeria, and going under the broad umbrella of the Yahoo Boys, have increasingly been seen sending blackmail victims videos likely using AI-generated news anchors in a bid to pressure victims into paying up. A WIRED review of posts on Telegram by self-styled Yahoo Boys shows the cybercriminals are impersonating television stations based in the US and sharing tutorials about how to create the blackmailing videos.
The videos follow a sinister pattern. One video—which can be seen in the image below—uses CNN’s logo and branding to impersonate the news organization, with text at the bottom of the screen describing the “breaking news.” On the screen, a likely AI-generated newsreader starts talking.
“Good day. My name is Kristina Lawson, reporting from New Jersey,” the anchor says in the nearly minute-long clip. “Just in: We have received a credible report regarding a disturbing incident.” The fake presenter says that a “young lady” has come forward to allege that they were sexually assaulted by an older man. In the video, the man, who is the target of the scam, is named, and a photograph of him appears onscreen.
Other videos seen by WIRED feature different news readers and names of news channels, but they also show more graphic photos of the potential blackmail targets, including nude and explicit images. In one “news” clip, the screen is split in two, with a photo of a man’s face on one side and the other side is a short video clip of him allegedly masturbating.
“At some point, they reveal their identity after they get everything that they need, and then they start blackmailing,” Maimon says. They demand money and threaten to release images online or send them to family and friends if they’re not paid. “One of the approaches they use in order to make sure that the blackmail is realistic is actually producing those news clips that they send to the victims and in a way push them, nudge them, to pay the blackmail,” he says. “They try to push you to make decisions under conditions of stress, under conditions of urgency.”
Yahoo Boy fraudsters widely use social media platform Telegram as a way of organizing, chatting with each other, and as a marketplace where they sell knowledge and tutorials about how to operate different types of scams. The “news” videos seen by WIRED appear to include the details and images of real-world victims, although it was not possible to immediately verify the cases.
Disclaimer
The information contained in South Florida Reporter is for general information purposes only.
The South Florida Reporter assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of the Service.
In no event shall the South Florida Reporter be liable for any special, direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages or any damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tort, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Service or the contents of the Service. The Company reserves the right to make additions, deletions, or modifications to the contents of the Service at any time without prior notice.
The Company does not warrant that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components
