At a big event called Sleuthcon, where experts on keeping computers and online stuff safe get together, they talked about how there are more and more bad guys on the internet who steal money or cause trouble. What’s interesting is that they’re noticing that these criminals aren’t just coming from the big countries we often hear about; they’re working from anywhere, even smaller places like Morocco.

In Morocco, a sneaky group known as Storm-0539 has been tricking stores into making gift cards, which they then take without paying. Instead of using dangerous software or breaking into systems, they’re fooling the people who work there with fake messages. Once they get inside, they print out these gift cards for lots of money and then sell them or use people called ‘mules’ to get the cash.

Another thing Storm-0539 does is create websites that look just like real ones to trick employees even more. But that’s not all. They also pretend to be good causes, so they can get important tools from companies that want to help nonprofits.

Experts aren’t totally sure why Morocco is becoming a popular place for these internet crooks, but some reasons might be because it doesn’t cost much to live there and because it’s become a nice place for tourists with more modern technology.

As more of these crimes happen, police and other agencies that fight crime are getting smart about how to mess up these criminals’ plans. A cool thing they did was take down a nasty group called LockBit. They changed LockBit’s website to make it look bad and expose all the secret names and plans, showing other criminals that they’re not as safe as they think.

The big takeaway is that policemen and detectives are doing everything they can to stop these crooks and make it harder for them to do their bad stuff. Offices like the FBI are working on breaking up the bad guys’ plans, seizing their stuff, and really shaking things up. They know they might not stop them forever, but every time they break their tools or make them go offline, that’s less harm they can do.

Now, if you want help keeping your own business safe from these kinds of problems, Diversified Outlook Group is here to offer some support. To find out how they can help, email support@diversifiedoutlookgroup.com.

For the full story, check out www.csoonline.com/article/2139598/sleuthcon-cybercrime-emerges-in-morocco-and-law-enforcement-gets-creative.html.