How can I report a financial fraud ring?

Question

A scammer contacted me on reddit to invite me to join his carding ring. They are using people's stolen identities to open bank accounts in their name, making fraudulent Amazon purchases with that account, and then selling the Amazon goods on ebay before finally laundering the profits through crypto.I think the scammer made an error though, which is that he posted his coinbase account url directly in the invitation email.The scam is structured so that all of the "students" send crypto payments directly to the ringleader; seems fairly simple to find the ringleader's account and then find the rest of the ring by tracing who is sending money to that account.Here's the intro video I was sent where you can see the coinbase account (I copied the video and made a youtube backup):https://vimeo.com/user188604890?embedded=true&source=owner_n...https://youtu.be/eZGqHx8NS1oHere's also the original text message I was sent:༺◍━═━═━◓━═━═━◍༻The only time you'll be invited. Read thoroughly.Online Carding is when you buy compromised credit card details for $10-$20 via autoshops (jstash, feshop, yalelodge, etc) and use it to place big orders on online sites like Amazon, BestBuy, etc.Assuming you could navigate Amazon's fraud detection, you could place an $800 order using the card. What I do is simple, I provide a mentorship where I will (1-on-1) walk you through making at least $3,500 per week through routinely carding Amazon, start to finish, in exchange for less than 1/10th of the profit you make long-term. This is 100% digital.ALL students make over $3,500 per week from this, some nearing up to $6,000. What I'm about to show you is heavily substantiated with mountains of indisputable proof.◉⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⊰ LEGIT ⊱⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯◉ Over 1,100+ positive rep on Empire from when I used to sell guides. (omnision | 2,900+ total rep, 4.93 ). Teaching carding since 2017.TWO vouching channels where students routinely post proof of their success.Students follow thorough guidelines when vouching, providing objective proof that their success is REAL and CURRENT.Students join via Selly, which means ALL students can rate me & leave feedback, and you can see it prior to joining.◉⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⊰ TIME ⊱⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯◉ MENTORSHIP: 5 days, 1 hour sessions per day.AFTER TAUGHT: ~20 min to card an order. 1-4 orders per day. (20m- 1h20m).◉⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⊰ SAFE ⊱⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯◉ The government convicts 1/13,698 online carders. 1/48 shoplifters for comparison. ANY associated risks will be methodically eliminated through proper digital OPSEC procedure. More detail in our Q&A channel w/ sources provided.༺◍━═━═━◒━═━═━◍༻STATUS (11/12/2022): 4 out of 25 slots remaining.

CommieBobDole · Accepted Answer

My suspicion is you haven't been invited to a carding ring, but instead somebody is trying to scam you. At some point, you will need to put up some money or somehow give them your financial details at which point they'll disappear.The best scams always involve baiting the mark into apparently doing something they know is illegal; when they get scammed, they won't go to the authorities.

outsidetheparty · Answer

This bit looks like the hook of the scam:
"I provide a mentorship where I will (1-on-1) walk you through making at least $3,500 per week through routinely carding Amazon, start to finish in exchange for less than 1/10th of the profit you make long-term"
So best case scenario you front your $350 for your first week of 'mentorship', then never hear from them again. More likely they string you along for as much as they can until you start asking when the profit part happens.
(And the limited-time-offer "4 out of 25 slots remaining" is classic bait, gotta build that sense of urgency so the mark doesn't take too much time to think about it before committing.)

dvdhnt · Answer

Hi, you can report internet related financial crimes to the FBI's Internet Crimes Complaint Center: https://www.ic3.gov/

idiotsecant · Answer

I'm pretty sure criminals making 6k a week aren't stumbling over themselves to give away the secret of their system in the form of a MLM spam DM. 100% chance this 'opportunity' requires you to pay a 'small fee' up front for the initial information, at which point you are out some money and never hear from them again.

from · Answer

1) There is 95% chance this is a scam2) In the event it is not a scam, that Coinbase account was probably established with a fake or stolen identity and will lead law enforcement absolutely nowhere

1659447091 · Answer

The 419eater[1] forum might be a good place to ask as well[1]: https://aff.419eater.com/

mxuribe · Answer

If it is indeed fraud - in addition to submitting anything via ic3.gov - you might want to review the FTC's fraud reporting website: https://www.ftc.gov/media/2

Damian21 · Answer

One of the saddest thing about getting scammed is the fact that you are almost going to be alone doing things on your own and trying to get your funds back. I saw an ad about icryptolands. ltd on facebook and decided to invest in their 1 month ROI, I didnt find out they were fake till after a month, I reported to facebook and they did nothing about it. I eventually had to use help from Assetsrepo. com to get my deposits back from them.

LinuxBender · Answer

Report the findings to the FBI [1][2] and cease communication with these people unless asked to do otherwise.[1] - https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/cyber#Respond-and%20Report[2] - https://www.ic3.gov/

shireboy · Answer

Just assumed this was another FTX post.

dvh · Answer

Do people not receive payment confirmations via SMS or email? I think I receive SMS for every purchase bigger than 5&euro; and email for every purchase.

How can I report a financial fraud ring?

Hi, you can report internet related financial crimes to the FBI's Internet Crimes Complaint Center: https://www.ic3.gov/

1) There is 95% chance this is a scam
2) In the event it is not a scam, that Coinbase account was probably established with a fake or stolen identity and will lead law enforcement absolutely nowhere

The 419eater[1] forum might be a good place to ask as well
[1]: https://aff.419eater.com/

If it is indeed fraud - in addition to submitting anything via ic3.gov - you might want to review the FTC's fraud reporting website: https://www.ftc.gov/media/2

Report the findings to the FBI [1][2] and cease communication with these people unless asked to do otherwise.
[1] - https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/cyber#Respond-and%20Report
[2] - https://www.ic3.gov/

Just assumed this was another FTX post.

Do people not receive payment confirmations via SMS or email? I think I receive SMS for every purchase bigger than 5€ and email for every purchase.