A Massachusetts woman has been sentenced for defrauding the state’s housing voucher program, exploiting outdated verification processes to collect benefits while living a lifestyle far from low-income eligibility. According to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General, the defendant falsified income statements, submitted […]

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Shaq O’Neal was waiting for his custom Range Rover to arrive in Louisiana. But unfortunately the $180,000 luxury car vanished somewhere between Atlanta and Baton Rouge and no one appears to know where it is.

Experts now suspect that his Range Rover was caught up in a new transport fraud scheme that they’re calling a “loss epidemic”.

The SUV was sold to the former Lakers star at Effortless Motors in Riverside California who then contacted First Line Trucking LLC to take the car out to Baton Rouge.

The auto transportation company says it was hit by a “sophisticated cyber-attack” and the car went missing after it arrived in Atlanta

Shaq’s Car Was Part Of A Sophisticated CyberAttack Says The Car Dealership

Shaq’s stolen car case used a twist on the transport diversion tactic.

Effortless Motors in Riverside had sold the Range Rover Shaq and then arranged to ship it to Louisiana for customization work which would have pushed the value of the car to $300,000. The car was picked up on Monday but never reached its destination.

When Effortless Motors called to check on the missing vehicle, they found out that it had disappeared along the route.

The transport company believes thieves may have hacked the transport firm to access pickup or delivery information, then used that data to redirect Shaq’s wheels into the wrong hands.

FirstLine Trucking LLC, the company hired to deliver the vehicle, said the driver listed for the job was never actually dispatched – suggesting someone may have posed as the transporter to steal the SUV. Effortless Motors is now offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to its recovery.

Shaq’s Range Rover had reportedly passed through several hands before disappearing somewhere in the Atlanta area. Abdelrahman said multiple shops were involved in its transport, and police are investigating how the car was handed off between each of them.

Part Of A Growing Scam Targeting Car Dealerships And Auction Houses

Car Dealerships and auction houses across the country are losing high-end cars to an organized fraud schemes that use fake transport companies and forged credentials to steal vehicles in broad daylight.

The scam works like this. Criminals create fake transport companies or steal the credentials of legitimate carriers – this is what probably happened with FirstLine Transport.

Then they monitor shipments of expensive cars, often through online load boards like Central Dispatch from Cox that connect dealers with trucking companies. After they find a target they show up to pick up the vehicle before the real transporter arrives.

The criminals arrive with convincing paperwork. Forged bills of lading, fake gate passes and phony company IDs fool dealership staff and auction security guards. Steve Yariv, an auto transport executive, warns that the fake documents are now so well-made that even experienced employees can be tricked.

Dealerships Need To Monitor Transportation Companies They Use

According to Matt Cermak with DealerGuard, this new scam is an epidemic with over a dozen claims in the last year alone.

“We hear it from other insurance programs and carriers, and we see it on other loss runs regularly, too,” Cermak said. “It is what we would consider a loss epidemic.”

The problem originated during the pandemic when more dealers were forced to transport cars to get inventory to and from customers and sellers while inventory was tight.

This attracted scammers since the volume of car transports spiked. According to John Taggart, SVP of DealerGuard dealerships increasingly rely on third parties to transport cars, that they really don’t know much about.

“Dealers are increasingly relying on logistics providers they don’t know and haven’t vetted. They go onto a platform, hire whoever’s available, and that’s where many thefts originate,” Taggart said.

Shaq’s Case Is Not An Isolated Case, Luxury Cars Are Going Missing Everywhere

A $347,000 Mercedes-AMG G63 disappeared in similar fashion earlier this year. A Texas dealership employee handed over the keys to someone who arrived three days early claiming to be the shipper. The real trucker showed up later to find the SUV gone. The dealership’s general manager admitted afterward, “We screwed up.”

In Florida, a $300,000 Rolls-Royce Cullinan vanished during shipment from Miami Beach to Michigan after scammers altered the delivery instructions. Miami police eventually arrested three men in connection with an organized ring that had stolen multiple luxury vehicles, including the Cullinan, a Lamborghini Urus and an Audi R8.

As for Shaq, his car is still at large but Effortless Motors isn’t just standing by. They are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of Shaq’s Range Rover.

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Authorities in Georgia have charged a former social services coordinator with orchestrating a large-scale fraud targeting elderly Medicaid recipients and Social Security beneficiaries. The investigation, led by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and the U.S. Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, revealed that the coordinator exploited her access to confidential client data to […]

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In early 2025, Oregon state investigators uncovered a widespread disaster relief fraud scheme in which multiple individuals and shell companies filed for emergency assistance tied to a series of winter storms that never affected their reported properties. The Oregon Department of Justice, working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), found that applicants submitted falsified […]

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Have you ever wondered what happens after you put your credit card information into one of those Toll Road Scam phishing sites?

Well, Gary Warner from Intelligence for Good just showed how the scammers are use those card details to drain your bank account without ever touching your wallet.

The scam works through an app called NFUP that turns two phones into a remote credit card skimming operation. One phone reads the card. The other phone, which can be anywhere in the world, makes the purchase.

They Can Use Your Card Anywhere In The World From Their Phones

Gary demonstrated the scam by setting up two phones with the same login credentials. The first phone acted as a card reader. The second became a fake checkout terminal.

When he touched a credit card to the reader phone, it instantly appeared as available on the second phone. The app even has a feature to hide the real card number, showing a fake image instead.

“The card reader is sitting far away,” Gary explained in his video. “In reality, many of these criminals are operating from places like Bangkok, Thailand.”

The scammer in Thailand touches your card to their phone. Their partner shopping in America can then tap to pay at any store.

He Even Did The Ghost Tap On His Own Credit Card In Target To Buy Gift Cards

Gary left the card reader phone in his car. He walked into Target with just the second phone to buy a gift card at self checkout.

The tap worked perfectly at the self service kiosk. He bought a $25 Amazon gift card without the actual credit card ever leaving the vehicle.

He then went to Walgreens to try another. The cashier processed the transaction normally, even mentioning the security strip on gift cards that prevents number theft!

The irony was not lost on Gary, who was using a completely different method to make fraudulent purchase (all legal of course since he used his own card)

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In 2025, Missouri labor officials uncovered a massive unemployment insurance (UI) fraud network that blended stolen personal data with synthetic identities to steal millions from state coffers. What began as a handful of suspicious claims ballooned into one of the largest benefits fraud cases in Missouri history—spanning multiple states, hundreds of fraudulent accounts, and sophisticated […]

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In early 2025, Kentucky authorities exposed a sprawling Medicaid fraud scheme in which a behavioral health clinic billed the state for counseling sessions that never occurred. The investigation, led by the Kentucky Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, revealed that the clinic’s administrators falsified records for hundreds of “phantom patients”—some of whom were deceased, incarcerated, […]

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In 2025, Georgia authorities dismantled a long-running Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) trafficking ring that funneled millions of dollars in fraudulent transactions through convenience stores and small grocers. The scheme not only stole taxpayer funds but also weakened trust in a program designed to reduce food insecurity. Fraudulent retailers allowed SNAP recipients to “sell” their […]

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In 2025, New York’s Office of the Inspector General announced charges against contractors accused of defrauding the state’s public housing authority through inflated invoices and falsified repair work. The scheme diverted millions of taxpayer dollars intended to maintain safe and affordable housing for low-income families. Investigators discovered that contractors billed for major renovations—such as roof […]

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In 2025, Pennsylvania federal prosecutors announced sweeping indictments in a Medicaid fraud case that revealed how health care providers siphoned millions in taxpayer dollars while endangering vulnerable patients. The case highlights how fraud can infiltrate even the most vital programs, draining resources meant for those who need them most. The scheme revolved around a network […]

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