Telegram Tuesdays: The Collaborative Nature of Fraud

Fraud today mirrors office teamwork, with roles and job-like postings, as seen in the Conti leaks. With 'fraud as a service' rising, assembling skilled teams for e-crime has never been easier—or eerier.

In popular media, we often imagine solo hackers working alone in dark basements. But in reality, fraud and e-crime are often intensely collaborative.

In more sophisticated groups—like APTs, ransomware teams, or organized crime networks—people work together in ways that resemble traditional office setups. Remember the Conti leaks? There were discussions about office expenses, team goals, and group workflows— very corporate.

In this example a fraudster is advertising a job opening for social engineering experts. They’re looking for applicants ready to screen-share and “grind” for at least four hours a day.

It’s eerily similar to standard job postings and reminds us that in both legitimate and illicit operations, finding strong collaborators is the real magic that drives success. The language of “need to grind” echoes familiar phrases from hiring managers looking for “10x engineers” or “workhorse ops leads.” 👀

Increasingly, we’re seeing the growth of "fraud as a service" in cybercrime. Specialized shops and individuals focus on specific parts of the attack chain—like social engineering or bypassing 2FA. It’s never been easier for someone to assemble the right pieces to carry out their fraud of choice.