Trend Micro Partners with INTERPOL in Arrest of Nigerian Cybercriminal Leader

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in security software and solutions, announced its collaboration in the arrest of the head of an international criminal network who was suspected of stealing more than $60 million through business email compromise (BEC) and CEO fraud. This arrest is a result of a joint partnership with INTERPOL and the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime Commission that utilized Trend Micro’s research paper, From Cybercrime to Cyberspying: Using Limitless Keylogger and Predator Pain to identify 419 Nigerian scams through easy-to-deploy, high volume attacks and corporate emails that convinced recipients to deposit payments to specially-crafted accounts.

According to the FBI, there has been a 1,300% increase in identified exposed losses through BEC, that has amounted to an average loss of $140,000 per scam. The impact and damage of these campaigns have resulted in serious repercussions for the businesses affected, making it highly imperative for companies to educate employees on how BEC scams and other attack verticals work.

Believed to be the leader of a 40-person network across several regions such as Nigeria, South Africa, and closer-to-home Malaysia, the Nigerian national whom was arrested provided malware and executed attacks. It is also suspected that he has conspired with money launderers based in China, Europe and U.S that provided illicit bank account details which stores stolen money. For more information on the arrest, please refer to Trend Micro’s blog post here.