People arrested even on the Italy-Kenya line as part of an international investigation coordinated by the American FBI with the police forces of 9 nations.
Operation "ReWired" for months aimed to dismantle an online criminal network that affected businesses and individuals, changing their bank transfer data after entering their certified e-mails and having access to confidential documents, according to a system called BEC (Business Email Compromise).
A multi-agency investigation lasting months led to 281 arrests, 74 of which in the United States, where the brains of the hacking operation lurked. Subsequent searches have allowed to seize almost 3.7 million dollars and to block 118 million in transfers and fraudulent transactions. These sophisticated cyberspace scams often hit employees with access to corporate finances and - using methods such as social engineering and computer intrusions - cause them to make bank transfers to bank accounts believed to belong to trusted partners. Accounts are actually controlled by criminals.
In the course of the investigation, business between Europe and African countries such as Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana was also found, with Italian companies being victims of this criminal system, which aimed to ensure that a BEC e-mail was not controlled by managers, as it came from a CEO of a company with which it had worked or from his office.
It is not known from the American task force, which also includes the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, the Treasury Department and the Postal Inspection Service of the United States, which are the Italian and Kenyan companies involved in this mega scam.