Security News > 2022 > May > Suspected phishing email crime boss cuffed in Nigeria

Interpol and cops in Africa have arrested a Nigerian man suspected of running a multi-continent cybercrime ring that specialized in phishing emails targeting businesses.

Interpol's African Joint Operation against Cybercrime referred the intelligence to Nigerian police, who were supported by law enforcement in Australia, Canada, and the US. Ultimately Nigerian cops arrested the suspect at Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos.

"The arrest of this alleged prominent cybercriminal in Nigeria is testament to the perseverance of our international coalition of law enforcement and Interpol's private sector partners in combating cybercrime," Garba Baba Umar, assistant inspector general of the Nigeria Police Force, said in a statement this week.

The security companies involved in the operation tracked the alleged Nigerian BEC crew under the name SilverTerrier, or TMT, and Delilah is the third in a series of law-enforcement actions that have resulted in the identification and arrest of these suspected gang members.

According to Interpol, one of the suspects arrested during Falcon II in Nigeria was in possession of more than 50,000 potential victim domain credentials on his laptop.

The suspect is well-connected with other BEC criminals, it is claimed, and also apparently shares social media connections with a trio arrested in 2021 as part of Falcon II, according to the security researchers.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/05/26/nigerian_phishing_arrest/