Interpol arrests financial scammers behind malware attacks

An operation codenamed ‘Killer Bee’ by Interpol has led to the arrest of three individuals behind cyber operations targeting firms in Southeast Asia.

According to CyberNews, the three men are suspected of using remote access trojans to reroute financial transactions.

The suspects are believed to have used RATs to reroute financial transactions stealing online connection details from corporate organisations such as oil and gas companies.

The suspects also employed malware dubbed ‘Agent Tesla’, which is used for its keylogging, screen capture, form-grabbing and credential stealing. The malware was delivered through phishing emails. Scammers used methods such as business email compromise scams.

A report by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity had previously found that BEC cost firms over €26bn in 2020, while complaints on BEC and other email compromises cost $1.8bn in 2020.

So far, of the arrested scammers, Hendrix Omorume has been charged and convicted of three counts of serious financial fraud and faces 12 months in prison. The other two fraudsters are still on trial.

Earlier this year, IDnow partnered with Interpol to deliver a series of training programmes to local law enforcement and immigration departments.

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