Operation Eagle Claw Busts Phishers and Phishing Websites

The anti-corruption agency of Nigeria, popularly known as "The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission" or EFCC, has reported of coordinating with Microsoft, the software giant, to bust scammers in a scheme named "Operation Eagle Claw."

Media reports state that the scheme helped the anti-corruption police of Nigeria to shut down over 800 phishing websites and to arrest 18 crime syndicates' members in an effort to curtail the country's large scale cyber-crimes.

Notably, most e-mail scammers are centered in Nigeria, which is regarded as the hub for spam mails and web scams. Here well-organized crime groups often run the well-known "419 scams" that acquired its name from Nigeria's penal code used to forbid the country's online scammers.

Farida Waziri, Head of EFCC, said - the Eagle Claw operation was expected to materialize fully in 6 months and with complete capability, it will take Nigeria outside the list of ten most dangerous nations for the most e-mail scam incidences, as reported by The Register on October 23, 2009.

The chief further said that the EFCC was framing precision modalities for ensuring Internet security. When they (modalities) would become fully operational, it would be possible to block 5,000 more scam e-mails per month. An estimated 230,000 advisory e-mails would be dispatched for the benefit of potential and actual victims every month, Waziri added.

Recently, several Nigerians participating in the phishing scam happened to be arrested in India as well. During March 2009, Spanish police detained 23 individuals, mostly Nigerians, because of allegedly executing a phishing fraud, which cheated around 150 people in Europe and the USA.

Commenting on the problem, cyber security specialists stated that the new operation was the second such scheme that successfully netted cyber criminals in just a single month. In another scheme, "Operation Phish Phry," which preceded the current one and implemented for 2 years or so, Egyptian and U.S authorities had brought to book around 100 phishing suspects. The FBI said - the e-mail scam had involved a number of perpetrators that led to the highest number of legally indicted people ever in such a crime.

» SPAMfighter News - 11/4/2009