Cybercrime: Police nab 12 suspects, bust syndicate

The Police have arrested 12 alleged members of a prolific cybercrime network as part of a Nigeria Police Operation coordinated with the INTERPOL.

Arrested by the officers of the Nigeria Police Force (PF) Cybercrime Unit and INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) in Nigeria, the suspects are said to be members of Silver Terrier, a network known for Business E-mail Compromise (BEC) scams which have harmed thousands of companies globally.

 During the 10 days operation, specifically between 13 and 22 December 2021, the NPF/INTERPOL Cybercrime Officers simultaneously carried out the operations in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Lagos and Asaba in Delta State and arrested targeted suspects identified ahead of time with intelligence provided by the INTERPOL.

Field operations were preceded by an intelligence exchange and analysis phase, where the Cybercrime Unit of NPF used INTERPOL’s secure global communication network – i24/7 to work with the Police Force across the globe and also help in the investigation of BEC scams linked to Nigeria.

The preliminary analysis confirmed that the suspect’s collective involvement in BEC criminal schemes was associated with more than 50,000 victims.

One of the suspects arrested has in his possession more than 800,000 potential victims’’ domains credentials on his laptop.

Another suspect had been monitoring conversations between 16 companies and their clients and diverting funds to Silver terrier whenever the companies’ monetary transaction is about to be made.

Operations Falcon sends a clear message that cybercrime will have serious repercussions for those involved in BEC Fraud, particularly as we continue our onslaught against the threat actors, identifying and analyzing every cyber trace they leave.

At a time of increased threats, members of the public businesses and organizations are reminded to protect themselves from online scams by the following advice featured in INTERPOL’s #JustOneClick, #WashYourcyberHands, #OnlineCrimeIsRealCrime, and #BECarefulcampaigns.

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