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Accounts deceivable: Email scam costliest type of cybercrime
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.
BEC scams are a type of crime where criminals hack into email accounts, pretend to be someone they’re not and fool victims into sending money where it doesn’t belong. These crimes get far less attention than the massive ransomware attacks that have triggered a powerful government response, but BEC scams have been by far the costliest type of cybercrime in the U.S. for years, according to the FBI — siphoning untold billions from the economy as authorities struggle to keep up.
The huge payoffs and low risks associated with BEC scams have attracted criminals worldwide. Some flaunt their ill-gotten riches on social media, posing in pictures next to Ferraris, Bentleys and stacks of cash.
“The scammers are extremely well organized and law enforcement is not,” said Sherry Williams, a director of a San Francisco nonprofit recently hit by a BEC scam.
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Westward Ho! Maine potatoes travel far after western drought
PORTLAND (AP) — Maine’s potato growers had such a bumper crop this past season that they stepped in to help their big brothers out west who were short on spuds.
Farmers from Maine shipped potatoes by rail for the first time in four decades this winter thanks to a strong harvest in the state and heat and dry weather that stymied farmers in renowned potato-growing states like Idaho and Washington. The potatoes made their way more than 2,500 miles for processing, riding in climate-controlled rail cars.
All told, 21 million pounds of potatoes, virtually all from growers in northern Maine, flowed through a rail-connected warehouse owned by LaJoie Growers LLC. That equates to more than 530 truckloads of potatoes, said co-owner Jay LaJoie.
“It’s a good chunk of potatoes,” said Don Flannery, executive director of the Maine Potato Board.
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New directory brings woman-owned businesses to the forefront
Maine is a stronghold of woman-owned businesses. From hotels to artisan marketplaces to gourmet restaurants in Portland’s foodie scene, it’s no secret that these businesses make our communities tick.
And now, for the first time, you’ll be able to find them all in one place.
Maine Women’s Business List is the first public directory of woman-owned businesses in our state. The Women’s Business Center at Coastal Enterprises Incorporated (CEI) launched the directory in November. At mainewomensbusinesslist.com, patrons can access a list of area businesses that are at least 50% woman-owned (CEI “aligns with the definition of women and female that explicitly includes not only cis women, but also trans women and femme/feminine-identifying genderqueer and non-binary individuals”). The easy-to-use site allows users to search by town or by service offered. Any Maine woman who owns a business can register with the directory for free.
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OBC to partner with UMaine athlete
ORONO – An area brewery is partnering with a UMaine athlete in an attempt at mutual support.
Orono Brewing Company is in the process of establishing a relationship with Shanna Scribner, a University of Maine graduate student and track and field athlete. The new NCAA policy surrounding name, image and likeness (NIL) went into effect on July 1, greatly expanding the opportunities for college athletes to benefit from their relative celebrity.
This change – which sprang from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in mid-June about possible antitrust violations stemming from the NCAA’s prohibition of athletes’ profit from their NIL – in turn led to 13 states passing legislation that began on July 1 either allowing college athletes to earn money from their NIL or prohibiting the NCAA from punishing those who did. In addition, another 11 states will have similar laws in effect by 2023.
Maine is not one of these states; with no legislation on the books, UMaine and other schools in the state will likely defer to NCAA guidelines.
The Scribner-OBC partnership started the same way so many things start these days – through the magic of social media.
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