A scammer operation, Fermart Travels, was investigated by reversing remote access to their computers, revealing their scamming techniques and operations. The scammers used pop-up scams, fake emails, and fake tech support to target victims in the USA, UK, and Australia. They used various company names and payment gateways to receive payments, which were monitored by supervisors. The supervisors would also keep an eye on the scammers' activities, including their browsing history and productivity. The scammers were paid a small bonus based on their performance, while the company made over $3 million a year from these scams. The investigation also revealed that the scammers used a trial version of GoToAssist software, which was easily obtained by creating disposable email addresses. The video creator, who claims to have reported the scam to the police, is calling on the company behind GoToAssist to take action to prevent their software from being abused by scammers.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. Fermart Travels operated a secret scamming call center in the rear of their normal premises.
2. The call center used pop-up scams to generate calls and revenue.
3. The scammers required remote access to a victim's computer.
4. The call center had 28 seats and an area for operations managers.
5. The operations managers facilitated the scams and monitored every PC in the room.
6. The scammers used GoToAssist software to remotely access victims' PCs.
7. The scammers created disposable email addresses to sign up for a trial version of GoToAssist.
8. The scammers used various company names, including Shankar Consulting and Ram PC Support.
9. The scammers changed their company name from Shankar Consulting to Ram PC Support after the former became known as a scam operation.
10. A Google search of Shankar Consulting showed that the business was associated with scams.
11. The scammers used different payment gateways and processes depending on the payment method.
12. The scammers made over $14,000 in a single day using their Chinese payment gateway.
13. The scammers made nearly $400,000 in the month of March last year.
14. Fermart Travels made $3 million a year from scams.
15. Most of the $3 million did not go to the people working on the floor.
16. The scammers received bonuses based on how much money they made.
17. The scammers typically made around $300-$400 for every $10,000-$20,000 in sales.
18. The scammers used cash to pay bonuses to avoid leaving a paper trail.
19. The scammers were not allowed to use their mobile devices during their 12-hour shifts.
20. The scammers were involved in more than one type of scam, including pop-up scams, outbound calls, and fake Amazon emails.
21. The scammers pretended to be Amazon and sent fake emails to victims.
22. The scammers asked victims to read out one-time pins, which is a common scam tactic.
23. The scammers preferred gift card numbers because the money could be easily laundered.
24. The scammers were based in India, not California, despite claiming to be based in San Jose.
25. The scammers did not know anything about San Jose, including the central road or local restaurants.
26. The scammers claimed to live in their office, which was not possible.
27. The police have become involved and arrested the person at the top of the company.
28. The company has several aliases and victims can contact the police if they think they have been affected by the scam.