Jailed tax fraudster used information bought on dark web
An Auckland man has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison for a large-scale tax fraud scheme. He used stolen personal information purchased on the dark web to submit fraudulent Covid-19 support and tax applications, resulting in over $250,000 in illicit gains.
Why it matters
This case highlights the growing threat of identity theft facilitated by dark web marketplaces and the vulnerability of government digital services to sophisticated fraud.
<p>An Auckland man has been jailed for five and a half years for large-scale tax fraud, using information he bought from online dark web marketplaces.</p> <p>Nicholas Ngwun bought people's credit card details and personal information - including usernames and passwords for accounts with Gmail, RealMe, Inland Revenue, Sky TV, Facebook, LinkedIn and telecommunications services.</p> <p>Over nearly two years, he submitted 121 fraudulent documents to Inland Revenue in other people's names in attempts to get more than $2 million.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in