The head of an international criminal network behind thousands of
online frauds has been arrested in a joint operation by INTERPOL and the
Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).
The 40-year-old Nigerian national, known as ‘Mike’, is believed to
be behind scams totalling more than USD 60 million involving hundreds of
victims worldwide. In one case a target was conned into paying out USD
15.4 million.
The network compromised email accounts of small to medium
businesses around the world including in Australia, Canada, India,
Malaysia, Romania, South Africa, Thailand and the US, with the financial
victims mainly other companies dealing with these compromised accounts.
Heading a network of at least 40 individuals across Nigeria,
Malaysia and South Africa which both provided malware and carried out
the frauds, the alleged mastermind also had money laundering contacts in
China, Europe and the US who provided bank account details for the
illicit cash flow.
Following his arrest in Port Harcourt in southern Nigeria, a
forensic examination of devices seized by the EFCC showed he had been
involved in a range of criminal activities including business e-mail
compromise (BEC) and romance scams.
The main two types of scam run by the 40-year-old targeted
businesses were payment diversion fraud – where a supplier’s email would
be compromised and fake messages would then be sent to the buyer with
instructions for payment to a bank account under the criminal’s control –
and ‘CEO fraud’.
In CEO fraud, the email account of a high-level executive is
compromised and a request for a wire transfer is sent to another
employee who has been identified as responsible for handling these
requests. The money is then paid into a designated bank account held by
the criminal.
‘Mike’ first came onto the law enforcement radar through a report
provided to INTERPOL by Trend Micro, one of its strategic partners at
the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) in Singapore.
This, combined with actionable analysis and intelligence from
Fortinet Fortiguard Labs in 2015, enabled specialists at the INTERPOL
Digital Crime Centre, including experts from Cyber Defense Institute
based at the IGCI, and the EFCC to locate the suspect in Nigeria,
resulting in his arrest in June.
Abdul Chukkol, Head of the EFCC’s Cybercrime Section said the
transnational nature of business e-mail compromise makes it complex to
crack, but the arrest sent a clear signal that Nigeria could not be
considered a safe haven for criminals.
“For a long time we have said in order to be effective, the
fight against cybercrime must rely on public-private partnerships and
international cooperation,” said Mr Chukkol.
“The success of this operation is the result of close
cooperation between INTERPOL and the EFCC, whose understanding of the
Nigerian environment made it possible to disrupt the criminal
organization’s network traversing many countries, targeting individuals
and companies,” added Mr Chukkol.
Noboru Nakatani, Executive Director of the IGCI warned that BEC
poses a significant and growing threat, with tens of thousands of
companies victimized in recent years.
“The public, and especially businesses, need to be alert to this type of cyber-enabled fraud,” said Mr Nakatani.
“Basic security protocols such as two-factor authentication and
verification by other means before making a money transfer are
essential to reduce the risk of falling victim to these scams.
“It is exactly through this type of public and private sector
cooperation that INTERPOL will continue to help member countries in
bringing cybercriminals to justice no matter where they are,” concluded Mr Nakatani.
The 40-year-old, along with a 38-year-old also arrested by Nigerian
authorities, faces charges including hacking, conspiracy and obtaining
money under false pretences. Both are currently on administrative bail
as the investigation continues.
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