Be wary of the dark web's Peeping Toms
Last week, during the course of some routine inquiries while doing a story about cybercrime, it came as something of a shock to find out that the amount of money scammed from Irish people over the past six years is now estimated to be in the region of €94 million . . . and that's just the loot secured by one international crime organisation, albeit probably one of the largest in the world.
Here and there, I'd heard a mention of the Black Axe crime group, and last week across seven counties, including two locations in Galway, searches were carried out by a specialist national Garda team known as GECB, standing for the Garda Economic Crime Bureau, one of the most high-tech divisions in the Irish police service.As well as seizing laptops and phones - all loaded with information on individuals and bank accounts - GECB also found items of clothing such as scarves, ties, caps and clothes, with the symbol of the Black Axe cult, whose roots can be traced back to the University of Benin in Nigeria nearly 50-years ago in 1977, when they were then connected to the Neo Black Movement [NBM].
Their 'business' is in cybercrime, drugs, the widespread use of money mules and an utterly horrific level of violence and intimidation. Now, in Ireland alone, they could have anything between 1,000 and 1,500 members with their core activity involving a series of sophisticated phone, text and online scams, to separate 'ordinary' people from their savings and nest eggs.
A BBC documentary back in 2021 featured an interview with a now lecturer in Nigeria's Benin University, and a former member of the Black Axe crime cult, Dr. John Stone, who was involved in various murders/atrocities during his time with the gang.
Now, 'a reformed man', he has broken his oath of silence, and outlined in that programme, the graphic details of punishments and murders carried out by Black Axe. He was at the bottom tier of Black Axe - the 'Butchers' or enforcers, taxed with carrying out various acts of intimidation and murders. In Black Axe, there are also - in ascending order of rank - the 'Criers' dealing with emails/publicity; the 'Eyes' keeping a watch out for police activity or infiltration; the Chairman, an elected officer; and at the very top the 'Priest'.
In that BBC documentary, a young third level student gave an account of how he was lured into a secret forest location thinking he was going to some kind of student party. It was far from that: he was stripped naked; whipped and beaten almost to the point of unconsciousness; and threatened that his girlfriend would be raped; he had to crawl through mud; and drink his own blood. Thinking he was going to die, he was then informed that he had been officially initiated as an 'axeman'.
There is a different dark world out there that many of us 'ordinary people' never really encounter, but with each passing day and the growing intrusiveness of AI [artificial intelligence] and highly sophisticated online scams, it is something that is on our doorstep, every time we answer our phones, look at our messages, or open our emails and wonder or not, as to whether we should click onto a link. If in doubt, always invoke the 'no' word.
Probably, with the benefit of having pretty regular contact with the Gardaí on local crime and crime prevention advisories, I tend to be that little bit more conscious and wary of unsolicited calls, texts or emails.
I'm nearly at the stage where if I don't recognise a number, then I just don't answer it. Okay, so I will miss a call here and there that I should have taken, but so what, they'll call again or make contact with me on a more familiar number.
Gangs involved in cyber crime are also adept at exploiting vulnerabilities in individuals such as older people with modern phones who may be that bit more susceptible in believing that people who contact them are all 'genuine and honest'.
The same applies to 'money mules' where criminal gangs tend to target individuals with a degree of vulnerability such as the unemployed, students, those under financial pressure, and newcomers to the country.
A money mule is someone who lets their own legitimate bank account be used by a third party for the illegal transfer of crime cash - often quite large amounts and frequently on an international basis - in return for getting a 'commission' from the crime gang.
People strapped for cash might see this as an easy way to make some 'handy money' but the 'dividend' could be potentially disastrous, resulting in a court conviction cum criminal record, a possible prison sentence, and also, never again being able to open a bank account or get a mortgage.
Last week, ESET Ireland based in Wexford, who specialise in digital security, also warned that AI was now helping to make cybercrime activity a lot faster. ESET said that this wasn't an AI scare story - just the reality that it helps 'attackers' to work faster on fraud opportunities. Again the usual advisories are given, such as using strong passwords; not giving too much access to tech systems; and not randomly clicking onto email links.
For many of us like myself of a certain generation, it is all a bit mind boggling as we hear of the Government spending almost €1 million on a 'surveillance secure' meeting room in Dublin for international meetings. Given the world we now live in, it's probably needed.
It goes back to the old proverb that for every joy there's a sorrow, and while our new world of instant clicks and information can be wonderful, there's also a very dark side to it. All we can do, is just keep our brain alert buttons on at all times and be aware that the man with the black axe is always looking over your shoulder when you answer the phone, read a text, or click into your emails.