The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the arrests of 65 people this week as part of a global operation to combat business email compromise (BEC) fraud.
Employees in charge of making or authorising wire transactions are frequently targeted by BEC scammers, who use a compromised or faked email account.
Using these accounts, the fraudsters submit legitimate-looking wire transfer requests to bank accounts under their control.
These attacks have been reported all around the world, and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received complaints of attacks that resulted in adjusted losses of about $2.4 billion last year alone.
The recently disclosed BEC crackdown, dubbed Operation Eagle Sweep, began in September and resulted in the arrest of offenders in the United States (43), Nigeria (12), South Africa (9), Canada (2), and Cambodia (1).
According to the FBI, the law enforcement investigation began in September 2021 and targeted BEC fraudsters suspected of causing over $51 million in losses to over 500 victims in the United States.
The FBI cited Bright Osaghni and Osatohanmwen Oriakhi, both of Toronto, Canada, as among the arrestees, who targeted hundreds of victims in the US and Canada and caused estimated losses of more than $16 million.
Operation Eagle Sweep comes after Operation Wire Wire in 2018 and Operation reWired in 2019, both of which resulted in the arrest of over 300 people for suspected involvement in BEC scams.
