Two scammers successfully swindled US businesses through phishing schemes and caused millions of dollars worth of damage. Now, they’ve been caught and are forced to spend years behind bars.
Franklin Ifeanyichukwu Okwonna, 34, and Ebuka Raphael Umeti, 35, were sentenced for causing millions of dollars in damages. The pair sent phishing emails to various US businesses, which infected the victim’s computers with malware.
Scamming through phishing emails has become a trusted tactic for threat actors looking to make a quick buck, as all it takes is one click, and threat actors can access your personal information.
These emails often look like they’ve come from a trusted source like a well-known company, bank, or vendor, but they often contain malicious links that, when clicked, will infect the victim's device with malicious software or “malware.”
Once your device has been infected, threat actors can access it and obtain your sensitive information, which is exactly what Okwonna and Umeti set out to do.
The pair infected victims’ devices with malware to remotely access the system and obtain businesses' sensitive data.
But why go to all that trouble? It was part of a larger financially motivated scheme to use that sensitive information against other businesses to trick individuals into sending them money.
Threat actors may use your sensitive data against you to make an email or other communication more convincing. You’re less likely to second guess your decision when sending more personal information or money to the attacker if they know details about you.
In recent years, businesses and individuals have gotten wise to these types of schemes, but some aren’t so aware.
Maybe the businesses weren’t properly educated on phishing attacks, or due to the sensitive data the defendants had obtained, Okwonna and Umeti’s communications may have been just too convincing.
Considering that the pair posed as a trusted source like a bank or a vendor, it seemed natural for these businesses to execute the transaction.
Either way, the pair swindled victim companies out of $5 million between 2016 and 2021. Okwonna and Umeti got away with these crimes for roughly five years before they were finally caught.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) didn’t disclose how the defendants were finally busted, but eventually, someone got wise to their scheme, and the pair were sentenced.
Okwonna has been given over five years behind bars and must return almost $5 million for his role in the computer hacking and phishing scheme.
Umeti got considerably more time behind bars. He will serve ten years in prison and will also pay $5 million.
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