Hundreds Of Email Scammers Have Got Arrested In A Global Crackdown

Har Devarukhkar - Sep 16, 2019

Hundreds of global alleged email scammers targeting elderly, job hunters, real estate buyers, etc. have been arrested in many countries.

After four months, a massive global operation of the US government has resulted in a large number of arrests across the globe. Last week, the Department of Justice published that 281 suspects were arrested internationally. This action is to stop a crime called Business Email Compromise schemes.

Involved in these financial schemes are people whose businesses are conducting wire transfers, targeting individuals to persuade them to send money to scammer-controlled bank accounts.

The-government-has-put-efforts-into-taking-serious-enforcement-actions-against-scammers-1 — The government has put efforts into taking serious enforcement actions against scammers

According to the Department of Justice, the highest number of scammers was in Nigeria with 167 arrests in total. There were also 15 in Ghana, 18 in Turkey, along with 74 in the US. In addition, there were some arrested scammers scattered across Asia, Europe, as well as some African countries.

These frauds seduce victims by faking lottery winnings, ideal romantic partner, car sales, real estate purchases and rentals, employment opportunities, etc., none of them are real. Others are fraudulent tax returns or identity theft. The majority of scam’s victims were either elderly individuals or businesses. Approximately $3.7 million was seized from these arrests by legal enforcement. As stated by the Department of Justice, the number only presents the tip of an iceberg. The real amount of illegal money stolen by scammers and fraudsters was dramatically higher.

These-scammers-will-steal-your-money-using-the-lure-of-lottery-winning-romantic-partners-etc. — These scammers will steal your money using the lure of lottery winning, romantic partners, etc.

Also, last Tuesday, Jeffrey Rosen, the Deputy Attorney General, stated that the DOJ had seriously taken aggressive enforcement action against scammers who were targeting US citizens along with businesses in several cyber-enabled financial frauds, including the business email compromise schemes. Any fraudster engaging in similar deceptive actions should acknowledge that they are not able to go undetected but being held accountable.

Any individual who thinks they might be a scam victim can fill in an online form offered by the Internet Crime Complaint Center of FBI.

In 2018, 74 alleged frauds were arrested internationally due to cyber-related financial scams.