China Stole Our COVID Relief Money

Chinese hackers stole $20 million of America’s covid-19 relief funds, the Secret Service reported on December 5. The hacking team, called apt41, stole government money meant for unemployment relief or small-business loans, likely targeting all 50 states.

Wanted: APT41:

  • The Secret Service said apt41 is a “Chinese state-sponsored, cyberthreat group that is highly adept at conducting espionage missions and financial crimes for personal gain.”
  • They are based in Chengdu, a city in southwest China.
  • The U.S. Department of Justice indicted apt41 in 2019 and again in 2020 for computer intrusions in over 100 companies.

A prevalent problem:

  • The Secret Service reported over 1,000 current investigations into fraud of public benefits programs.
  • A report by the Department of Labor showed that in four states, over 40 percent of covid relief money was claimed fraudulently.
  • It is likely the hackers still have access to state computer systems.

The government and businesses are not the only targets of cyberattacks. In 2020, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray warned: “If you are an American adult, it is more likely than not that China has stolen your personal data.”

A prescient prophecy: For more than 25 years, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has been sounding the alarm about America’s overreliance on computer technologies. He first discussed it in the mid-1990s, warning specifically about the military’s perilous dependence on systems that are vulnerable to sabotage. In our January 1995 issue, he quoted analyst Joseph de Courcy, who called this dependence “the Western world’s Achilles’ heel.”

Mr. Flurry wrote:

America is the greatest superpower this world has ever known. But we have a very vulnerable point in our military—our own Achilles’ heel. It is so dangerous that I am amazed it hasn’t received more publicity.

Mr. Flurry said examining this cybervulnerability reminded him of a Bible prophecy recorded in Ezekiel 7. Verses 1 through 3 show that God is addressing “the land of Israel” in the time of “the end,” which mainly refers to the modern-day United States and Britain. Verse 8 shows that this is describing a future when God punishes these nations for their rejection of His law and “abominations.” Verse 14 details one result of this punishment: “They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.”

Mr. Flurry called this an “alarming” passage and wrote: “It seems everybody is expecting our people to go into battle, but the greatest tragedy imaginable occurs! Nobody goes to battle—even though the trumpet is blown! Will it be because of a computer terrorist?”

Learn more: Read “What Happens When the Plug Gets Pulled?