Ironic
Ironic that I got a "how wonderful do you think AI is?" questionnaire at the bottom of the article.
US cybercrime losses pass $20B for first time as AI boosts online fraud
Crims are taking advantage of AI to sharpen old scams. The FBI reported Monday that cybercrime losses hit a record $20.87 billion in 2025, with help from bots. According to the annual Internet Crime Complaint Center's (IC3) Internet Crime Report [PDF], the total number of cybercrime complaints submitted to the agency topped …
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Tuesday 7th April 2026 18:43 GMT Like a badger
They could reduce this by 90% in a few weeks
Most of the payment platforms used are US owned, who happily transfer funds to untraceable offshore accounts. Simply make the payment platform liable for losses to fraudsters, they'd very quickly find fixes, such as blocking all transfers to unvetted accounts in dodgy jurisdictions, and applying financial penalties to platforms in the last traceable intermediary country, as well as sanctions to overseas individuals simply on reasonable suspicion.
The reason that $20bn a year of theft hasn't been sorted is because the US political classes don't care, not because it can't be stamped on in weeks. The same is true for our feckless, lazy and incompetent government here in the UK.
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Wednesday 8th April 2026 03:25 GMT MachDiamond
Trade-offs
People have been enticed into more risk financially through giving them more convenience.
Paying with cash can be less convenient but, for me, it's a good speed bump to limit impulse spending. Cash is also network independent. If I'm traveling and a petrol station or shop can't process card transactions (which will also include payment using a mobe), I'm not affected. I've accumulated decades worth of experience and have never needed remote access to a retirement account, brokerage account or what I call "deep savings". To have those accessible by phone is a massive risk I don't want to take at my time of life. Way back when I was living pretty close to the edge, even fraud that would be reimbursed would still make me late paying rent, utilities and other bills adding up to hundreds of late fees and penalties.
I'm considering now not keeping as much in banks. Certainly not a single bank. Not earning interest isn't such a detriment given how little that can be these days for high-liquidity accounts. I was just having a thought about how I could build a cash dispenser somewhere where when I needed to stock up, I could hit a hidden button, possibly a distance away, and spit out some twenties. It's my house so I could build it in somewhere hidden. I don't have a Spanky hunting bugs that would stumble upon it. (I can't find the clip, darnit).
