FBI hunt for the crypto queen

Crypto Queen on the run

CRYPTOQUEEN HUNTED RUJA Ignatova, also known as the "Cryptoqueen " , has been placed on the FBI' s top 10 most wanted list.

The Bulgarian woman, believed to be in her 40s, is wanted for her alleged role in running a cryptocurrency scam known as OneCoin.

She is the only woman on the FBI’ s TopTen MostWanted list

Federal investigators accuse the fugitive of using the scheme to defraud victims worldwide out of more than $4bn (£3.2bn).

She has been missing since 2017 when US officials signed an arrest warrant and investigators began closing in on her.

Ignatova also owns a £13,5m mansion in London which is kept under regular surveillance.

FAKE FAGS factory SPANISH police have rescued six workers who were left trapped and gasping for air in a counterfeit cigarette factory located in a bunker four metres underground, police and Europol said.

It was the first underground counterfeit cigarette factory discovered in the European Union. Police found the site underneath some stables near Moran, a mountain town in southern Malaga.

Capable of producing more than 3,500 cigarettes an hour, the manufacturing complex was fitted with living quarters and beds.

Among those arrested was a 30-yearold British national identified only by his initials D.D. who was believed to be one of the ringleaders.

Wanted in Britain, he went on the run while on prison furlough while serving time for drug trafficking.

Forged cash seized POLICE seized high-quality forged banknotes produced at a printing office at a university in Bulgaria ' s capital.

In a joint operation with the US Secret Service, Bulgarian police detained two people - employees at the university - and seized a printing machine and equipment for printing money, along with large amounts of counterfeit US dollars and euro notes.

The prosecutor ’ s office said the amount of counterfeit money taken in was $4 million and €3.6 million.

Police believe that the two suspects are part of a larger criminal enterprise, dealing in the trafficking of counterfeit cash to Ukraine, andWestern Europe. consequences

Criminals being chased...in their own Ferrari THIS Ferrari can do more than 200mph and was once the proud possession of notorious criminals. Now, it is being used to chase them. Police in the Czech Republic have added their livery to a Ferrari 458 Italia which used to be " criminal property” . Featuring a highly-tuned 4.5-litreV8 engine, it will be used to pursue the " most aggressive drivers on Czech highways " , officers said. It will also be deployed against illegal races which pass through different countries, of which there were about 30 a year before the coronavirus pandemic. Such events feature vehicles similar to the Italian supercar with " extreme performance that normal patrol vehicles cannot fully compete with" , Czech Police explained. It has covered only 2,000km (1,242 miles).

EU loses €15b in tax EUROPEAN member states lose out on €15 billion of tax revenues annually because of counterfeiting, the EU Intellectual Property Office claimed.

The 11 sectors most directly impacted by counterfeiting are estimated by have lost more than €83 billion in sales between 2013 and 2017, EUIPO said in its latest report.

In addition, more than 670,000 legitimate jobs were lost while governments missed out on €15 billion in tax revenue per year.

The European body noted for instance that an increasing array of medicines including cancer therapies or heart disease medications are being counterfeited " with potentially deadly consequences COUNTERFEIT CDs OFFICERS from the City of London Police ’ s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) seized counterfeit CDs worth an estimated loss to the industry of £169,708, during warrants in theWirral, Merseyside. Two warrants were carried out at commercial premises on Indigo Road and EasthamVillage Road. A third warrant took place at a residential address on Sutherland Drive.

Officers from PIPCU, with the support from the NorthWest Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit, seized 32,254 fake CDs being sold on Amazon.

Nurse IN COVID arrest POLICE in Italy say they secretly filmed a nurse in Palermo, Sicily, loading up a dose of Covid-19 vaccine, then emptying it before injecting a patient.

The person wanted the certificate mandatory to enter many public places in Italy - but didn 't want the vaccine.

The nurse did the same thing with some family members known to be anti-vaxxer activists. Even her own booster dose was fake, say police.

Viva tips to safeguard your Future

Beware of companies that are not under the Equity Release Council banner Avoid advice companies that charge percentage based or high Advice

Fees Beware of any hidden costs Make sure the advice you get is for your future as well as the here and now Beware that a company offering the lowest interest rate maybe not the best in the long term for you ELDERLY home owners facing the current financial crisis are turning to Equity Release as a way of either enjoying their twilight years or helping family onto the housing ladder.

But the owner of one of the fastest rising young companies, the multi-award-winningViva Retirement Solutions, has issued a warning about scammers.

Paul Saroya said the industry is well regulated, but because of vulnerability and also the immediate needs of people, they can be given the wrong advice.

Viva Retirement Solutions has won the Mortgage Solutions Best Financial Advisor award for Equity Release seven years in succession - including 2022 - which is testament to its integrity.

And the judges turned round and said: “This firm just moves up another gear each year, they ' re just so open and positive towards industry issues, which aren 't necessarily their focus, they continue to evolve every year and are very proactive in how they do that. "

Paul Saroya is proud of this and said thatViva continues to enhance his reputation whilst making sure that bad advce does not get a foothold in the industry.

“There are certain steps any prospective client should undertake and the two most important one ’ s are to make sure that any firm working in your behalf is member of the Equity Release Council and the Financial Conduct Authority, ” said Paul. continued on page 17

Unlock the value of your home with a lifetime mortgage

If you’re over 55 and own your home, you could be eligible for a lifetime mortgage. We’re here to help by advising you on all the options available to you.

For qualified and impartial advice, call us on 0800 046 9776

www.vivaretirementsolutions.co.uk

A lifetime mortgage is a long term commitment which could accumulate interest and is secured against your home. Equity release is not right for everyone and may reduce the value of your estate. A fee of up to £750 is only payable on completion of your Lifetime Mortgage if you proceed with an application. Viva Retirement Solutions is a trading name of Viva Retirement Ltd and is an Appointed Representative of Stonebridge Mortgage Solutions Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. FCA Number: 604664. Registered Ofce: 4 Severnvale, London Colney, St Albans, Herts, AL2 1TE Registered Company Number: 10756078 Registered in England & Wales.

Sol11231

EQUITY RELEASE 17 A warning to make sure you get the right advice

The two most important steps to take before employing any company to negotiate equity release for you, is to make sure that firm is FCA registered and is also a member of the Equity Release Council

PAUL SAROYA,Viva Retirement Solutions

Stay alert to scammers

From page 16 “That way you are protected, but there are many companies promoting their services who claim to have FCA registration when they do not.

“Always check their registration number before you employ their services and that way you protect yourself from criminal activity.

“Now with 16 advisers maintaining our high customer service standards it has never been more important to ensure we alert potential clients to some of the risks out there.

“Viva Retirement Solutions has always put the customer first and one way we do this is by charging just £750 fees while other companies charge in excess of £1500 or a whopping 1.95% of the loan.

“There are serious pitfalls if you choose the wrong adviser and this can lead to a negative impact on what is left for children. Our team of advisers explain every eventuality to the client whilst making sure that equity is protected either for their children to benefit. ”

There ’ s been a massive increase in the number of over-55s being targeted for cash which is locked up in their homes.

Equity release, when done properly with the correct advice, and through a reputable company, can help those aged over 55 access the wealth tied up in their homes.

Generally there has been an influx of interest in this market due to higher borrowing and low rates of interest, and this can attract the wrong types of people such as scammers and fraudsters.

The market is thought to be worth

Advisor Dawn Evans Advisor David Hulin

more than £1bn and the fraudsters work by convincing homeowners to hand over personal details under the guise of helping them find the best deal.

They are then bombarded by marketing calls until they give in, but the victim is simply speaking to salesmen who have paid for those details, then sold to the highest bidder.

“This isll the more reason to sign up to a reputable company backed by the FCA and the Equity Release Council, ” added Paul.

Find out more about Equity Release from the Viva Retirement Solutions website at www.vivaretirementsolutions.co.uk or call them free on 0800 046 9776 A lifetime mortgage is a long term commitment which could accumulate interest and is secured against your home. Equity release is not right for everyone and may reduce the value of your estate

Advisor Steff Miles

LANDMARK VICTORY 19 Crooks decide to pay up

IF you have been a victim of a massmarketing scam, here ’ s good news from the NationalTrading Standards team. UK victims will now be compensated following a landmark investigation by the NTS Scams team.

An estimated seven million UK addresses were targeted by US-based fraudsters offering alleged cash wins and ‘ guaranteed’ cash prize pay-outs.

The criminals deliberately preyed on consumer vulnerability, particularly older people living alone or those with long-term health conditions.

The mailings enticed victims by asking for an upfront fee ranging from £25 to £40. Many paid the fee several times before realising there was no prize, with the highest individual losses in the UK running into thousands of pounds.

After working alongside the US FederalTrade Commission, the NTS ScamsTeam has been able to secure a total of more than £530,000 in compensation to more than 3,500 victims, marking a new approach to obtaining proceeds of crime from international fraudsters.

Louise Baxter, head of the NTS ScamsTeam, (pictured above) said: “This marks a major milestone in an investigation that started four years ago. Falling victim to a scam can have a huge emotional impact on individuals so I’ m delighted that we can use the proceeds of these crimes to provide compensation to thousands of UK victims, with the help of our network of Trading Standards Officers. “Collaborating across borders with the FederalTrade Commission has proven highly effective.We are confident that this approach of obtaining proceeds of crimes from international fraudsters to compensate UK victims could be replicated in the future. ” The NTS investigation identified a criminal enterprise based in Kansas as the source of the mailings.

The criminals – Kevin Brandes,William Graham, Charles Floyd Anderson and their companies – had sent tens of millions of deceptive personalised mailers to individuals around the world, in the so-called ‘Next Gen ’ sweepstakes scheme.

They ran a classic and vintage car sales operation and held millions of dollars in a variety of bank accounts.

Working with US colleagues at the FederalTrade Commission, action was taken against the perpetrators in 2018, which saw them agree to forfeit $30m in cash and assets, of which $25m was made available to compensate victims.

NTS, which was commended by the US Attorney General for its role in the investigation, has since worked to secure the first compensation scheme across international borders in the UK.

Victims will be issued with a preloaded card which they can spend in shops or pay into their bank accounts.

CRYPTO FRAUDS RISING JUST IGNORE THE LIES

THE number of cyber frauds is increasing day by day across the globe especially the alarming rise in cryptocurrency fraud.

The FederalTrade Commission (FTC) is worried about increasing crypto frauds and has issued a consumer alert concerning the increase in crypto scams.

In this country Facebook is continuously publicising articles about Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis andTVpresenters Holly Willoughby and Philip Scholfield.

But these stories are all lies despite Martin Lewis taking legal action to try and stop people using his name to defraud innocent members of the public.

Cryptocurrency scams claiming to feature advice from Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis have been spreading on Facebook.

This is not the first time that Facebook has had to content with Mr Lewis ’ image being used for scams.

In 2018,Mr Lewis launched a High Court legal battle against Facebook over claims that over 1,000 scam adverts on its platforms have caused vulnerable people to hand over thousands of pounds to criminals.

Facebook and Mr Lewis eventually settled after the social media giant launched a dedicated tool to report scam ads and donated £3 million to a new CitizensAdvice project to stop more from spreading.

Numerous adverts have been uploaded to Facebook’ sAd Library claiming that if people invest a small amount of money –between £190 and £250 – they can generate £3400 per month.

The fraud has increased since December. So,the FTC has alerted banks and investors about the activity,which is more likely to be done with Phoney Bitcoin apps.

On July 18,a report was released stating that 244 victims have lost about $42.7 million because of crypto cybercrime,which the Federal Bureau of Investigation has listed.

The FBI has claimed that some crypto investment apps commit fraud by assuring investors they provide investment services.

The investors are asked to download their application with the names and logos of trustworthy financial institutions by the bluff artists.

The Bureau said: “The FederalTrade Commission has marked that the cybercriminals are contacting U.S.investors assuring them to provide investment services and then influencing them to download their application,which cybercriminals have been using to defraud people. ”

“Once the application is downloaded,the cryptocurrency is deposited in the wallet of the account in the app of victims.

“Thirteen of the 28 victims tried to withdraw the money from the app,but instead of withdrawal,they got an email in which it was written that firstly,they have to pay the tax on their investment after that you will be eligible for the withdrawal.

“After paying the tax,the victims couldn ’t withdraw the funds. ”

Between December 2021 and May 2022, about 28 people were victimized in this cybercrime, and the loss was estimated at $3.7 million.

Two applications namedYibit and Supayos were found guilty by the FBI.Both the apps were active from October,and November 2021,respectively,and the developers made money through them.

In 2021,the same case was found where the app owner pretended to be a U.S.financial organization to make money.

After a huge surge in fraud,the FBI has advised investors and institutions to use and download these apps carefully and handle them with great intelligence. On July 18, a report was released stating that 244 victims had lost about $42.7 million because of crypto cybercrime, which the Federal Bureau of Investigation has listed. FBI spokesman