{"id":49479,"date":"2022-11-28T15:34:21","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T15:34:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/packetstormsecurity.com\/news\/view\/34081\/Gangs-Of-Cybercriminals-Are-Expanding-Across-Africa.html"},"modified":"2022-11-28T15:34:21","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T15:34:21","slug":"gangs-of-cybercriminals-are-expanding-across-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/gangs-of-cybercriminals-are-expanding-across-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Gangs Of Cybercriminals Are Expanding Across Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Police and investigators fear organised gangs of fraudsters are expanding across sub-Saharan Africa<\/a>, exploiting new opportunities as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the global economic crisis to make huge sums with little risk of being caught.<\/p>\n

The growth will have a direct impact on the rest of the world, where many victims of \u201chugely lucrative\u201d fraud live, senior police officials have said.<\/p>\n

Experts attribute the surge in cybercrime in Africa to rapid growth of internet use at a time when police forces and criminal justice systems have been weakened by the economic consequences of a series of major challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated digitalisation around the world, but as life has shifted increasingly online, cybercriminals have exploited the opportunity to attack vital digital infrastructure,\u201d said Prof Landry Sign\u00e9, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of a recent report on the problem. \u201cStates across Africa have emerged as a favourite target of cybercriminals, with costly consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interpol have described online scams such as banking and credit card fraud as the most prevalent and pressing cyberthreat in Africa. The Covid-19 pandemic led to a sustained increase in the volume of cyber-attacks, including more than twice as many targeting online banking platforms, analysts at the organisation have said.<\/p>\n

A major operation earlier this month coordinated by Interpol in 14 countries<\/a> underlined the scale of the threat from cybercrime on the continent and beyond. Police arrested more than 70 alleged fraudsters linked to a Nigerian criminal network known as Black Axe in South Africa, Nigeria and Ivory Coast \u2013 as well as in Europe, the Middle East, south-east Asia and the US.<\/p>\n

Almost 50 properties were searched and about $1m intercepted in bank accounts. A residential property, three cars, tens of thousands in cash and 12,000 sim cards were seized.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is way wider and broader than these 14 countries. We are dealing with a highly organised international network. These guys are not opportunists \u2026 We\u2019re mapping them out around the world,\u201d said Rory Corcoran, the acting head of Interpol\u2019s new Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre.<\/p>\n

The recent raids across Africa targeted alleged members of Nigeria\u2019s infamous Black Axe gang, which began as a student movement in Benin City in the 1970s but has since evolved into a global criminal network that specialises in fraud. A regional hub in South Africa<\/a> was reportedly officially recognised by the Black Axe leadership in 2013, according to US legal documents viewed by the Guardian.<\/p>\n

The trail leading to the arrests last month began in Ireland, when local police officers recovered phones and other devices belonging to fraudsters linked to Black Axe. Investigators recognised vocabulary typical of the group and were able to trace links back to west Africa.<\/p>\n

A former South African criminal intelligence official said the impact of operations such as the arrests earlier this month should not be exaggerated, however.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere may be a decrease in activity for a time, but does the organisation stop? Not really. They run these things really effectively and there are work arounds. You get a lot of publicity for law enforcement but really it\u2019s little more than a speed bump for the criminals,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n

Corcoran said arrests had a significant disruptive effect. Recently introduced improvements to coordination and communication between the banking sector and local police forces also allowed much more rapid tracking, seizure and restitution of stolen funds.<\/p>\n

More than $120m has been seized this year, denying fraudsters such as Black Axe capital that could be reinvested in other forms of crime, such as forcing young west African women into sex work in Europe, buying weapons or the growing international traffic in methamphetamines.<\/p>\n

The return of air travel after the pandemic has allowed fraudsters to move again between key hubs of activities, former investigators say. The United Arab Emirates, with its many air links and luxury lifestyle opportunities, has long been a favoured destination for west African fraudsters, for example. Dubai was a favourite base for Ramon Abbas, a flamboyant Nigerian who flaunted a lavish lifestyle fuelled by his efforts to launder millions of stolen dollars<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Abbas, under the name Ray Hushpuppi, had more than 2 million Instagram followers before he was arrested in 2020 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. His social media posts showed him living a life of luxury, complete with private jets, ultra-expensive cars, high-end clothes and $200,000 watches.<\/p>\n

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\"Ramon<\/picture><\/div>
<\/svg><\/span>Ramon Abbas, aka Ray Hushpuppi, used to flaunt his lavish lifestyle on Instagram before his arrest.<\/span> Photograph: Ray Huspuppi \/Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Earlier this month Abbas, 40, was sentenced in Los Angeles to more than 11 years in federal prison and ordered by a federal judge to pay $1.7m in restitution.<\/p>\n

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