A Nigerian accused of scamming $60 million from companies around the world through fraudulent emails has been arrested after months of investigation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Interpol said Monday.
The 40-year-old, identified only as ‘Mike’, was detained in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital over claims he was behind a scam targeting hundreds around the world.
In one case, an alleged victim was conned into paying out more than £11million, according to Interpol.
The man is accused of leading a criminal network that compromised email accounts of small and medium-sized businesses around the world including in the United States, Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia, Romania, South Africa and Thailand.
The network involved about 40 people in Nigeria, Malaysia and South Africa who provided malware and carried out the frauds, with money-laundering contacts in China, Europe and the United States providing bank account details.
A supplier’s email would be compromised and fake messages sent to a buyer with instructions for payment to a bank account under the network’s control, a police statement said.
Or the email account of a high-level executive would be taken over and a request for a wire transfer sent to an employee responsible for handling such requests.
The suspect is thought to have run a network of at least 40 people working from Nigeria, Malaysia and South Africa.
Police believe they used malware to carry out the fraud, while the arrested suspect also had money laundering contacts in China, Europe and the US who provided bank account details for the illicit cash flow.
“The 40-year-old Nigerian national, known as ‘Mike’, is believed to be behind scams totalling more than $60 million involving hundreds of victims worldwide,” the international police organisation said in a statement.
“In one case, a target was conned into paying out $15.4 million,” Interpol said, indicating that the arrest was carried out with the support of the EFCC.
“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 United States,’ it said.
“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 and romance scams,” it said.
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.
The suspect and a fellow fraudster, 38, who was also arrested in the city, face charges including hacking, conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretence.
