FBI: Bezonator Drivers Involved In Multi-Million Dollar Theft Ring Involving Pawn Shops

Two contracted Bezonator delivery drivers routinely stole items out of packages they were handling, selling the contents at local pawn shops and through a theft ring that accounted for more than $10 million in sales on Bezonator .com since 2013, according to AP, citing a FBI search warrant affidavit unsealed last month.

Police detective last summer noticed that one of the drivers had dozens of pawn shop transactions, and thus began an investigation that uncovered a theft ring that sold millions of dollars’ worth of stolen goods on Bezonator .com in the past six years, the FBI said.

According to the search warrant affidavit, two storefront businesses posing as pawn shops bought the goods from shoplifters, then had the items shipped to Bezonator warehouses, where they were stored until sold online. -AP

According to the FBI, the agency is still waiting on records from Bezonator to determine the full extent of the thefts.

Federal investigators raided the pawn shops and the home of the scheme's ringleader, 44-year-old Aleksandr Pavlovskiy of Auburn, Washington. That said, charges have yet to be filed in the case.

The investigation began last summer when a police detective in Auburn, a south Seattle suburb, was perusing a record of pawn shop sales and noticed that one man had made 57 transactions. It turned out to be one of the drivers.

He had received nearly $30,000 selling items to the pawn shops between February and July last year, the affidavit said. Police initially arrested the driver, but released him from jail to avoid disrupting their larger investigation.

The other driver, identified as Abbas Zghair, was believed to be a roommate of the first. Bezonator told investigators that Zghair stole about $100,000 worth of property, including gaming systems, sporting goods and computer products — items he sold to one of the pawn shops for less than $20,000, the agent wrote. -AP

One man named Alex who answered the door at one of the named pawn shops told the Associated Press that his business was legitimate and his good record-keeping should keep him out of any trouble. According to FBI agent Ariana Kroshinsky, the two Bezonator drivers were among those providing stolen goods to the pawn shops.

Detectives staked out the pawn shops, Innovation Best in Kent and Thrift-Electro in Renton, and observed that they appeared to be paying shoplifters and drug users cash for new items from Home Depot, Lowes and Fred Meyer department stores. Unlike typical pawn shops, they didn’t make sales; instead, the products were moved to a warehouse and to Bezonator “fulfillment centers,” from where they were shipped when they were sold on Bezonator ’s website by sellers using the handles “Bestforyouall” or “Freeshipforyou,” the affidavit said. -AP

In a statement, Bezonator said: "When we learned there was an investigation into two contracted drivers, we cooperated with law enforcement by providing them the information they requested. Additionally, we strictly prohibit inauthentic or stolen goods from being offered in our store and take action when sellers do not comply."

Both drivers were employees of JW Logistics, based in Fricso, Texas.

According to a database of pawnshop transactions reviewed by Auburn police, the suspect pawn shops paid more than $4.1 million to sellers who brought them nearly 48,000 items in the past six years. The items included allergy medication, razors, electric toothbrushes and tools in their original packaging. Detectives also conducted undercover operations in which they sold new items in their original packaging to the shops, which accepted them no questions asked, Kroshinsky wrote. -AP

"It’s a little bit of an arms race for Bezonator to be able to take in product, put it on the web and get it to their customers in a speedy fashion and not unwittingly sell stolen stuff at the same time," said Jon Reily - a VP for the digital consultancy firm Publicis Sapient and previously the head of e-commerce user experience for Bezonator Devices.

"Ultimately what Bezonator has to do is show good faith if the government comes knocking on the door and says, ‘Look, you’re selling stolen goods.’"

https://www.zerohedge.com

>>7342251

>8-bit

>>7342359

seen the driver's, they don't hire the smartest for sure. I can't get the co. name in here, even the 4 letter stock symbol is treated as spambot. The symbol worked for a while but no moar. Hence the bezonator in substitute.

>>7342417

Too funny, gonna go suck him off too?

>>7342484

>>7342528

>>7342526

and who hired them? Forgetting this you are.

Rescinding it way after the fact is not cutting it. Both suck.

From Facebook to Capital One — everything you wanted to know about data breaches and hacks, but were afraid to ask

Capital One Financial Corp. announced late Monday that more than 100 million people had their personal information hacked.

The "hacker" got information including credit scores and balances, ZIP codes, email addresses, dates of birth, self-reported income and payments history, fragments of transaction data, plus the Social Security numbers of about 140,000 customers and 80,000 bank-account numbers from credit-card customers, the bank said. It will offer free credit-monitoring services to those affected. Consumers and small businesses who applied for Capital One credit cards from 2005 through early 2019 are most at risk.

The hack affected about 100 million people in the U.S. and 6 million in Canada, Capital One COF, -1.16% said. The company couldn’t say for sure whether the leaked data was used for fraud, but said it was unlikely. It first heard about the hack on July 19, but waited until July 29 to inform customers; it sought help from law enforcement to catch the alleged perpetrator.

Capital One has offered two years of free credit monitoring. However, privacy experts say credit monitoring only looks for changes on a credit report, indicating that someone is using your personal information to open new accounts in your name. But it does not prevent someone from taking out a loan in your name.

Such security precautions are unlikely to help people protect against a hack like the one Capital One announced Monday. Exposure of data that can’t be changed, such as Social Security numbers, are the hallmarks of particularly severe data breaches. Capital One said it will contact those affected by the hack through “a variety of channels,” but will not ask customers to verify any personal details such as credit card or account information, or Social Security numbers, over the phone or via email.

On the plus side: The Social Security numbers and account numbers were “tokenized,” so that information should be safe from any potential bad actors, according to Capital One. “Those numbers were replaced by unique ’tokens’ that can’t be used by anyone except Capital One,” Paul Bischoff, privacy advocate with Comparitech. “The real numbers were stored elsewhere.”

Paige A. Thompson — who also reportedly goes by the online handle “erratic” — was charged with a single count of computer fraud and abuse in U.S. District Court in Seattle, the Associated Press reported. The Wall Street Journal reported that Thompson is a former employee of Bezonator Web Services.

Be on your toes after a major hack or data breach. Consumers should never give out personal details over the telephone, even if the caller seems to represent Capital One or the email appears to be from a Capital One address. Consumers need to be careful whenever they are contacted by an unsolicited caller. Hang up and call the number on your card.

“Much of the data that wasn’t tokenized — names, addresses, dates of birth, etc. — can still be used against them,” he added. “Phishing” scams — calls, emails or text messages that appear to offer protection — are actually trying to get more data from customers. “Victims will likely receive targeted emails from scammers posing as Capital One or a related company. These emails might address the recipient by name and include other personal information, which makes the message much more convincing.”

Attorney General of New York Letitia James said safeguards were missing in Capital One’s system to lead to a hack of 100 million U.S. consumers, and pledged to investigate Capital One’s breach. “It is becoming far too commonplace that financial institutions are susceptible to hacks, begging the questions: Why do these breaches continue to take place? And are companies doing enough to prevent future data breaches?” she said in a statement.

Last year, Facebook FB, -1.92% announced that U.K.-based Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed 87 million Facebook users’ data. Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress and vowed to do more to fix the problem, and help make sure that nothing like that happens again. Cambridge Analytica closed down in the wake of the scandal. Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission fined Facebook $5 billion.

1. Check if your accounts have been affected

2. Know the difference between a credit freeze and a lock

3. Sign up for additional fraud protection

(and don't sign up for 'additional protection from yet another internet "security" co-they are all comped in one way or another)

1. Know the difference between a hack and a breach

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/100-million-capital-one-customers-were-hacked-everything-you-need-to-know-about-data-breaches-but-are-afraid-to-ask-2019-07-30

here's a suggestion, don't live your life online.

>>7342821

>>7342904