海角大神

A Nigerian accused of scamming $60 million from companies around the world through fraudulent emails has been arrested after months of investigation, Interpol and Nigeria's anti-fraud agency said Monday.

One target paid out $15.4 million, according to a statement from Interpol.

The ringleader of a global scamming network, identified only as a 40-year-old known as Mike, was arrested along with a 38-year-old accomplice in Nigeria's oil capital, Port Harcourt, in June, said the statement. He is on administrative bail, which implies that officers do not yet have enough evidence to charge him in court. He聽faces charges including hacking, conspiracy and obtaining money under false聽pretenses, said the statement.聽

The man is accused of leading a criminal network that compromised email accounts of small and medium-sized businesses around the world including in the United States, Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia, Romania, South Africa and Thailand. The statement didn't name any of the targets.

The network involved about 40 people in Nigeria, Malaysia and South Africa who provided malware and carried out the frauds, with money-laundering contacts in China, Europe and the United States providing bank account details.

A supplier's email would be compromised and fake messages sent to a buyer with instructions for payment to a bank account under the network's control, the statement said. Or the email account of a high-level executive would be taken over and a request for a wire transfer sent to an employee responsible for handling such requests.

Such crime "poses a significant and growing threat, with tens of thousands of companies victimized in recent years," Noboru Nakatani, executive director of the Interpol Global Complex for Innovation, said in a statement. "The public, and especially businesses, need to be alert to this type of cyber-enabled fraud."

鈥淏asic security protocols such as two-factor authentication and verification by other means before making a money transfer are essential to reduce the risk of falling victim to these scams," said Mr. Nakatani.聽

Nigeria is notorious for internet fraud. The U.S. Embassy says it receives inquiries every day from Americans who have been defrauded.

The Nigerian (419) Scam is a particularly聽common type of online fraud,聽according to an article Ned Smith contributed to TechNewsDaily in 2010:

" 'Mike鈥� first came onto the law enforcement radar through a report provided to Interpol by Trend Micro, one of its strategic partners," said the statement.聽

鈥淔or a long time we have said in order to be effective, the fight against cybercrime must rely on public-private partnerships and international cooperation,鈥� said Abdul Chukkol,聽head of the cybercrime section of the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime Commission, in the statement.聽

Mr. Chukkol said the transnational nature of business e-mail compromise makes it complex to crack, but the arrest sent a clear signal that Nigeria could not be considered a safe haven for criminals.