Interpol arrests three Nigerians for allegedly swindling companies in 150 countries

The International Police Organisation (Interpol) has arrested three Nigerians over their alleged involvement in cyber-scam in more than 150 countries across the world.

The agency said in a statement on its website the suspects targeted governments and private organisations in the countries before they were arrested.

They were members of an organised crime gang that specialized in wired frauds across the world.

According to the statement, the three men were arrested on Wednesday in a joint operation involving the Interpol, the Nigeria Police Force and Group-IB (a cybersecurity firm), codenamed “Operation Falcon.”

Interpol discovered the group’s activities centred on dispersing popular malware strains with the impression of purchasing orders, large-scale phishing campaigns, product inquiries, and COVID-19 aid while masquerading as legitimate businesses.

The statement read: “The suspects are alleged to have developed phishing links, domains, and mass mailing campaigns in which they impersonated representatives of organisations.

READ ALSO: NIS uploads 15,000 stolen, lost travel documents to INTERPOL database

“They, then, used these campaigns to disseminate 26 malware programmes, spyware, and remote access tools, including AgentTesla, Loki, Azorult, Spartan, and the nanocore and Remcos Remote Access Trojans.

“These programmes were used to infiltrate and monitor the systems of victim organisations and individuals, before launching scams and syphoning funds.

“According to Group-IB, the prolific gang is believed to have compromised government and private sector companies in more than 150 countries since 2017.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now