Three Nigerian men have been arrested as part of an INTERPOL-led operation targeting malware cyber fraud in Southeast Asia.
They are suspected of being associated with global scamming.
The suspects were arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in a sting operation conducted at the same in a Lagos suburb called Ajegunle and in Benin City, 300 km to the East of the commercial capital.
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), said the sitting operation in Nigeria is part of a global operation codenamed “Killer Bee” involving INTERPOL National Central Bureaus (NCBs) and law enforcement in 11 countries across Southeast Asia.
The statement read, ”The arrests follow the publication of an INTERPOL Cyber Report linking a suspected syndicate of Nigerian fraudsters operating from the West Coast of Africa to the use of a malicious Remote Access Trojan (RAT) known as Agent Tesla.
The men are thought to have used the RAT to reroute financial transactions, stealing confidential online connection details from corporate organizations, including oil and gas companies in South East Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.”
One of the scammers, Hendrix Omorume was charged with three counts of serious financial fraud and has been convicted and sentenced to one-year imprisonment the trial of the others is still ongoing.
INTERPOL’s Director of Cybercrime Craig Jones said, “Through its global police network and constant monitoring of cyberspace, INTERPOL had the globally sourced intelligence needed to alert Nigeria to a serious security threat where millions could have been lost without swift police action.
Further arrests and prosecutions are foreseen across the world as intelligence continues to come in and investigations unfold”.
Mr. Jones added, ” further arrests and prosecutions are foreseen across the world as intelligence continues to come in and investigations unfold”.
INTERPOL helps in examining the laptops and mobile phones seized by EFCC during the arrests, helping to confirm the systematic use of “Agent Tesla” malware to access business computers and divert monetary transactions to their own accounts.
Abdulkarim Chukkol, the EFCC Director of Operation said,
“Cybercrime is spreading at a fast pace, with new trends constantly emerging. Through operations like Killer Bee, INTERPOL partners with EFCC to keep pace with new technologies and understand the possibilities they create for criminals and how they can be used as tools for fighting cybercrime.
The enforcement actions led by Nigeria and coordinated by INTERPOL send a clear message that cybercrime will have serious repercussions for those involved in business email compromise fraud, particularly in Nigeria”.
The three men, aged between 31 and 38, were each arrested in possession of fake documents, including fraudulent invoices and forged official letters.
Operation Killer Bee is led by the ASEAN Cybercrime Operations Desk, which is funded by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) 2.0 and supported by the Singapore Government.
The countries involved in the operation partners are; Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
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