Police finally catch 'cyber mule' after a year-long hunt
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When you receive an email at work, you expect it to be from a trusted and known source. After all, you don’t just give out your work email to anyone. But what if the contents of the email are fake, the information incorrect, and you find that thousands of dollars have been stolen from your bank accounts?
That’s what happened to unsuspecting businesses this year when police charged a 23-year-old man from Melbourne with laundering money via the proceeds of business email scam (BEC) frauds.
The arrest follows a year-long investigation by the Australian Federal Police’s (AFP) specialist task force targeting business email compromises (BEC).
The police claim that the man received over $176,192, believed to be the gains from BEC scams, between June 2021 and May 2022.
According to the AFP, the man acted as a money mule, helping move funds obtained through various online scams that targeted Australians. He allegedly distributed the funds across multiple accounts before transferring them to another person.
The AFP's Operation Dolos-EMMA8 began monitoring the man's activities in August 2022, following a bank's alert about suspicious financial transactions.
Operation Dolos, a multi-agency task force, was established in January 2020 to combat the rise of BECs, preventing more than $45 million from falling into the hands of cybercriminals so far.
In November 2022, the police searched the man's home in Footscray, where they found electronic devices and small quantities of cocaine and cannabis. Based on the evidence collected during the search, the man was arrested on 13 July 2023.
He is facing one count of dealing with the proceeds of crime exceeding $100,000, which has a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, and two counts of possessing a drug of dependence and is set to appear in court in October.
One of the alleged scams involved the theft of $17,000 from an Australian construction company through a fraudulent email claiming changes in bank details from a furniture supplier. The construction company inadvertently transferred the funds to an account in the man's name.
AFP Senior Constable Khali Sherer emphasised in an interview the prominence of business email compromise as a cyber threat, with Australians reporting losses of over $98 million during 2021-2022.
She advised individuals to exercise caution with suspicious emails and to verify their authenticity directly with the relevant business or organisation.
‘If you think an email is suspicious, make further enquiries,’ Senior Constable Sherer said. ‘Call and check directly with the business or organisation you are dealing with.’
Have you received suspicious business emails or fallen victim to a potential email scam? Share in the comments!
That’s what happened to unsuspecting businesses this year when police charged a 23-year-old man from Melbourne with laundering money via the proceeds of business email scam (BEC) frauds.
The arrest follows a year-long investigation by the Australian Federal Police’s (AFP) specialist task force targeting business email compromises (BEC).
Cyber crimes are on the rise. Image source: Pixabay.
The police claim that the man received over $176,192, believed to be the gains from BEC scams, between June 2021 and May 2022.
According to the AFP, the man acted as a money mule, helping move funds obtained through various online scams that targeted Australians. He allegedly distributed the funds across multiple accounts before transferring them to another person.
The AFP's Operation Dolos-EMMA8 began monitoring the man's activities in August 2022, following a bank's alert about suspicious financial transactions.
Operation Dolos, a multi-agency task force, was established in January 2020 to combat the rise of BECs, preventing more than $45 million from falling into the hands of cybercriminals so far.
In November 2022, the police searched the man's home in Footscray, where they found electronic devices and small quantities of cocaine and cannabis. Based on the evidence collected during the search, the man was arrested on 13 July 2023.
He is facing one count of dealing with the proceeds of crime exceeding $100,000, which has a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, and two counts of possessing a drug of dependence and is set to appear in court in October.
One of the alleged scams involved the theft of $17,000 from an Australian construction company through a fraudulent email claiming changes in bank details from a furniture supplier. The construction company inadvertently transferred the funds to an account in the man's name.
The Footscray man was arrested on 13th July. Image source: AFP.
AFP Senior Constable Khali Sherer emphasised in an interview the prominence of business email compromise as a cyber threat, with Australians reporting losses of over $98 million during 2021-2022.
She advised individuals to exercise caution with suspicious emails and to verify their authenticity directly with the relevant business or organisation.
‘If you think an email is suspicious, make further enquiries,’ Senior Constable Sherer said. ‘Call and check directly with the business or organisation you are dealing with.’
Have you received suspicious business emails or fallen victim to a potential email scam? Share in the comments!
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