WASHINGTON–Seventy-four people have been arrested as part of a global crackdown on a scam involving sending bogus emails to companies that demanded payments of funds.
The arrests follow a six-month investigation known as "Operation Wire Wire," with 42 suspects arrested in the U.S., 29 in Nigeria and others in Canada, Mauritius and Poland, according to the Justice Department. Justice said the operation led to the seizure of nearly $2.4 million and the "disruption and recovery" of about $14 million in fraudulent wire transfers.
The operation was funded and coordinated by the FBI, but also included the Department of Homeland Security, Treasury Department and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, along with many other law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and worldwide, the Justice Department said.
According to the Justice Department, the scam involved sending messages that impersonated a company official requesting the urgent payment of funds, resulting in fraudulent wire transfers or checks. The emails targeted employees “with access to company finances and businesses working with foreign suppliers and/or businesses that regularly perform wire transfer payments."
Personally Identifiable Information Also Sought
The so-called Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams sometimes targeted personally identifiable information or employee tax records rather than money, according to the Justice Department. The department said the same criminal organizations involved in BEC scams also frequently exploit individuals, including real estate purchasers and the elderly.
Starting in January, the Justice Department said coordinated enforcement action targeted hundreds of BEC scammers. "Law enforcement agents executed over 51 domestic actions, including search warrants, money mule warning letters and asset seizure warrants totaling nearly $1 million," the Justice Department statement notes.