EFCC Arrests Global Ringleader of U.S.$60 Million Online Scam

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday said the ringleader of a global network behind thousands of online scams had been arrested in Nigeria.

A statement from EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said the head of an international criminal network behind thousands of online frauds was arrested in a joint operation by Interpol and the EFCC.

Uwujaren said the 40-year-old Nigerian known as 'Mike', was believed to be behind scams totalling more than $60m involving hundreds of victims worldwide.

He added that in one case, a target was conned into paying out $15.4m. The network, Uwujaren said, compromised email accounts of small to medium businesses around the world including Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia, Romania, South Africa, Thailand and the US, with the financial victims mainly other companies dealing with these compromised accounts.

Uwujaren also said while 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.



He added that following his arrest in Port Harcourt, 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.

Uwujaren said the two types of scam run by 'Mike" targeted businesses 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.

He said in the 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 'Mike' who 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.

Uwujaren also said head of EFCC's Cybercrimes Section Abdul Chukkol, 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.

Uwujaren qouted him as saying: "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."

Uwujaren also said the 40-year-old, along with a 38-year-old also arrested by Nigerian authorities, face charges including hacking, conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretences. Both are currently on administrative bail as the investigation continues.‎