Federal investigators have arrested 281 people around the globe for email schemes that duped people and businesses into giving up millions.
The alleged scammers were behind what's called "business email compromise" efforts, which often involve pretending to be a company's CEO or trusted partner, and then tricking the target business into wiring funds to a scammer-controlled bank account. To pull of the impersonation, the scammer will create fake emails, or even hack into a legitimate email account at the business, so they can ask unsuspecting employees for a money transfer.
The schemes can be quite lucrative. As part of the arrests, federal agents seized $3.7 million while also disrupting and recovering another $118 million in fraudulent wire transfers, the FBI said on Tuesday.
Seventy-four of the suspects were arrested in the US. Another 167 were nabbed in Nigeria, with the remaining arrests occurring in Turkey, Ghana, France, Italy and Japan, among others.
In addition to the business email compromise, the suspects were also allegedly engaged in a variety of other crimes, including identity theft, federal investigators claim.
"In unraveling this complex, nationwide identity theft and tax fraud scheme, we discovered that the conspirators stole more than 250,000 identities and filed more than 10,000 fraudulent tax returns, attempting to receive more than $91 million in refunds," IRS criminal investigation chief Don Fort said in a statement. According to federal investigators, the scammers behind these schemes can also try to collect personal information from a victimized company, including employee tax records.
Some of the suspects are also accused of laundering stolen funds. For instance, 27-year-old Brittney Stokes and 40-year-old Kenneth Ninalowo have been charged with laundering $1.5 million through a community college and an energy company.
Another pair of suspects in Texas, 44-year-old Opeyemi Adeoso and 45-year-old Benjamin Ifebajo, have been charged with receiving and laundering $3.4 million. "They are alleged to have assumed 12 fictitious identities and defrauded 37 victims from across the United States," the Justice Department said.
To avoid getting scammed, employees should be on guard for any emails that ask for a large money transfer. It's best call (perhaps a video chat is best) or meet with the person who sent the email to confirm that the money request is legit. Scammers can also try to infect your computer with malware by creating emails that contain dangerous links or attachments. The FBI has a website with more tips.