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the countries or regions their victims are
from to pull off various types of fraud,
typically BEC fraud.
Increase in the volume of cybercrime-related complaints received by law enforcement agencies in the region.
Maintaining overseas accounts and
contacts not only makes their schemes
more convincing, but hiring regional mules
is often perceived to reduce the chances
of law enforcement agencies identifying
them. Establishing and maintaining
money-laundering networks requires
constant communication. Next-level
cybercriminals’ mules are mainly West
Africans who may have migrated to target
countries. In fact, the Interpol survey
revealed that the majority of the West
African cybercriminal groups expand their
operations overseas. This setup—asking
countrymen who reside overseas to help
with illegal operations—is part of the
general West African cybercriminal culture.
The Interpol survey revealed that Internet
fraud targeting businesses instead
of individuals enabled West African
cybercriminals to steal more money. An
average of $2.7 million from businesses
and $422,000 from individuals is stolen
each year data from 2013 to 2015 was
used. This could be the reason why we
are seeing an increase in the BEC fraud
volume over time.
The most-targeted country for BEC fraud was United States followed by China.
often part of groups operating in the
same physical location— normally
cybercafés. They are supervised by more
experienced cybercriminals—usually
ringleaders or gang masterminds.
Each cybercriminal takes care of an
entire operation—from scouring the
Internet for email addresses to send
spam to, to communicating with each
potential victim, and finally receiving the
defrauded money.
Yahoo boys continue to use Yahoo! apps
but probably not as much as in the past,
when they first earned their nickname.
They actively use social media, particularly
Facebook, to post pictures showing off
their ill-gotten wealth—newly acquired
vehicles or luxury items. Their social circles
comprise contacts who generally reside
in the same physical locations as they
do, which tells us that they may be close
friends and meet face-to-face.
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A new breed of West African
cybercriminals has recently surfaced,
who in some aspects are the opposite
of Yahoo boys. They seem well-off
and highly respected on social media
but tend to shy away from showing
off their wealth. Some are also family
men and mature in terms of personal
behavior. Next-level cybercriminals
engage in more complex types of
fraud. As such, we can deduce that
they are more technically proficient
than Yahoo boys.
They normally purchase keylogging
software and hire encryption service
providers from Russian and other
underground forums that use English.
Next-level cybercriminals also possess
better money-laundering capabilities.
They maintain financial accounts and
connections overseas, as evidenced by
the fact that they use bank accounts in
West African cybercriminals will eventually
start creating online communities, not
just small groups of close friends with
whom they share technical skills and
know-how. Some may start selling
products and services that work for their
crimes, leading to the formation of a West
African underground market. Younger
West African cybercriminals and those
working toward becoming criminals will
continue to be as bold as those from
Brazil, flaunting their ill-gotten gains for
the world to see.
Cybercrime in West Africa is real.
Just because today’s attacks are
less sophisticated than those we are
accustomed to seeing from cybercriminals
in other countries or regions, it does not
mean they do not have adverse effects.
Excerpted from Cybercrime in West Africa,
poised for an Underground Market by
Trend Micro and Interpol.
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