This archive report was first published on 12 September 2019.
Published on September 12, 2019, US authorities have cracked down on a global online scam, arresting 281 cybercriminals in 12 countries.
The operation, dubbed Operation Rewired, was carried out by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over a four-month period.
According to the DOJ, the suspects include 167 from Nigeria, 74 in the United States, 18 from Turkey, and 15 from Ghana, with other arrests made in Kenya, France, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom.
“Foreign citizens perpetrate many BEC [Business Email Compromise] scams. Those individuals are often members of transnational criminal organizations, which originated in Nigeria but have spread throughout the world,” US DOJ said in a statement.
During the operation, $3.7 million was recovered, and the DOJ warned that the crackdown was a clear message to the criminals who orchestrate these BEC schemes.
Christopher Wray, the FBI director, warned, “We’re sending a clear message to the criminals who orchestrate these BEC schemes.”
