International police dismantle cybercrime group in West Africa

The operation targets a variety of cyber threats, including business email compromise (BEC) schemes, romance scams and other financial crimes within the African region, particularly in West Africa. The criminal, known as John Edwards, defrauded a North Carolina university of more than $1.9 million and attempted to steal more than $3 million from entities in Texas, including local government agencies, construction companies, and a Houston-area college. Eight suspected cybercriminals were arrested in Côte d'Ivoire as part of an ongoing international operation, according to a statement by Interpol. The fraudsters used QR codes to direct victims to malicious websites that mimicked legitimate payment platforms, where they asked their victims to enter personal information such as login details and card numbers. The investigation is ongoing as police try to identify additional victims, recover stolen funds and trace goods purchased with illicit proceeds. According to Interpol, the scam resulted in reported financial losses of over $1.4 million. During the investigation, law enforcement located and arrested the main suspect behind the attacks, who confessed to the scheme and making over $1.9 million from it. To gain the trust of their targets, the hackers posed as buyers on small advertising websites or impersonated customer service agents. The arrests are part of the Contender 2.0 operation, launched in 2021, according to Interpol.

This Cyber News was published on therecord.media. Publication date: Wed, 02 Oct 2024 16:05:07 +0000


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