Fraudster uses Linkedin to fleece microchip buyers
An electronics industry organisation has warned of a criminal using professional networking platform LinkedIn to defraud silicon chip producers by pretending to work for a UK-based electronics distributor.
ERAI, an electronic supply chain expert, warned in a recent blog post that someone impersonated Howard Carrick, who claimed to work in express electronics, had received orders for 18000 Texas instrument components from an unnamed buyer, worth nearly 130000 dollars.
The terms of payment are 20% payment in advance by telegraphic transfer, and nearly 26000 dollars are transferred to the bank account provided by the fraudster. When the chips were not received, the buyer tried to contact Howard Carrick, but to no avail.
When the parts were not delivered as agreed and emails to Howard Carrick were ignored, the buyer reached out to Express Electronics via their corporate website (www.express-elect.com) and was advised no one by the name of "Howard Carrick" is employed by their company and that they do not hold a bank account with Barclays Bank. Furthermore, emails from Express Electronics employees should originate from @express-elect.com, not @expresselect.co.uk. It was at this point the buyer realized they were the victim of a wire fraud scam.
An investigation into the wire fraud revealed a fairly sophisticated scam, with a fake LinkedIn profile that used imagery and text close to those used by the genuine company, fraudulent invoices using falsified company credentials including phone and VAT numbers and a fake website.
Shockingly, even though the fraud has been reported to LinkedIn, Howard Carrick's profile – which has 330 followers – remains active at the time of writing.
LinkedIn told CNBC in June that it has been experiencing an increase in fraud, but took down 32 million fake accounts last year.
From July to December 2021, the platform's automated defence systems blocked 96% of all fake accounts, according to the company's most recent security update.
That included 11.9m profiles that were stopped at registration and 4.4 million that were proactively restricted. LinkedIn members reported 127,000 fake profiles that were also removed.
Please be careful of those who provide the following account information. If you meet them, please contact us ample chip immediately.
Bank Name: Barclays Bank UK PLC
Account Number: 80299219
Beneficiary Name: Express Electronics Ltd.
