2 London-based men have been jailed for stealing ?1Million from business? during Phishing scam
South-London based crime partners Emmanuel Mmaduike and Olawale Kashimawo have been sentenced to over 6 years in jail after being found guilty of fraud and money laundering.
The pair spent the last few years living ?lavish? lifestyles; hiring helicopters, driving luxury sport cars and posting pictures of themselves holding wads of cash, flashy watches and drinking expensive champagne.
It is estimated they stole over ?1million in just 7 months by running a ?business email compromise? (BEC). A BEC attack is a form of phishing attack where a criminal tricks a business? employee in transferring funds to an incorrect bank account by impersonating a senior executive.
The pair began their scam when they obtained thousands of emails and passwords, they then spent the time between April 2015 and November 2015 accessing mailboxes and changing invoices so that payments were redirected to their own mule bank accounts.
BEC attacks are one of the fastest growing forms of cyber-crime, according to a report by Cisco criminals made over ?3.9billion from BEC attacks in just 3 years.
Phishing campaigns are becoming more and more difficult to spot every day, with criminals consistently finding new ways to trick users into clicking on malicious links and providing personal data. Make sure to take extra care when handling them, and look out for the key giveaways to a phishing email;
- Does the senders email look familiar or genuine?
- Are there any spelling mistakes or use of bad grammar?
- Have they provided proof of knowing you? (Mentioned your name or provided account number etc.)
If you receive a doubtful email regarding transaction requests and changes to bank information, double check by contacting the person directly by phone to confirm. There is no harm in being cautious.
To learn more about Phishing attacks visit our Cyber Wise Blog for more information.