January 3, 2024 at 02:35PM
Nigerian national Olusegun Samson Adejorin was arrested in Ghana for wire fraud and identity theft, related to $7.5 million embezzlement from US charitable organizations. The fraud scheme involved unauthorized access to email accounts and impersonation of employees to trick one charity into transferring funds to accounts controlled by the attacker. Adejorin faces a maximum penalty of 20 years for wire fraud and additional charges. BEC attacks cause significant financial damage, and defense measures like multi-factor authentication are recommended.
The meeting notes highlight a case involving a Nigerian national, Olusegun Samson Adejorin, who was arrested in Ghana and is facing charges related to business email compromise (BEC) attacks. Adejorin is alleged to have defrauded two charitable organizations in the United States, resulting in a loss of more than $7.5 million. The fraudulent scheme involved unauthorized access to email accounts, posing as employees of one charity to request funds from another, and successfully tricking Victim 1 into transferring $7.5 million to the attacker’s bank accounts.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced the charges against Adejorin, including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and unauthorized access to protected computers. The DoJ also highlighted the potential financial damage caused by BEC attacks and outlined some defense measures to consider, such as implementing multi-factor authentication, using email filtering to detect and block phishing attempts, and establishing verification procedures for wire transfer requests.
The case serves as a reminder of the importance of implementing robust security measures to protect organizations from such attacks and the significant impact they can have on financial losses.