Editor’s Note: Read Cigarette Smuggling and Cyber Security: Low-Tech Crimes Fund High-Tech Threats.
From: JTI
How criminal gangs are targeting your social media feeds with deceptively damaging deals.
The digital age has given rise to a new era of illegal tobacco trade – and what happens online is causing more ‘real world’ harm than you might realize…
“Not such good ‘friends’…”
The internet, and social media in particular, can be a great space for fostering friendships and finding a bargain. Sadly, criminals are able to exploit these platforms in a way that goes against everything you love about them… and YOU are the target!
Take cigarettes for example. The days of selling counterfeit, contraband and illicit white cigarettes on a dodgy street corner or under the counter are largely gone. The illegal tobacco trade has now moved online, and what may seem at first glance like nothing more than a packet of cut-price, duty-free cigarettes is actually feeding into global criminal organizations – and the damage they do to you and your loved ones far outweighs the benefits of saving you a bit of money.
