A man has been arrested by Europol as he attempted to launder money originating from an email fraud (BEC) related to the spread of coronavirus.
On Monday, the European law enforcement agency said the 39-year-old was arrested in Singaporeafter a suspicious transaction. Specifically, his request to transfer funds to a bank in the country was investigated and rejected.
Authorities allege the defendant participated in a fraud in which an anonymous European -based pharmaceutical company lost €6.64 million. The defendant posed as a legitimate organization promising rapid supply and delivery of FFP2 surgical masks and hand sanitizers, products that have become invaluable in the fight against COVID-19 , while allowing the continuation of essential operations, research projects and services.
The pharmaceutical company paid the money it requested, but the supplies she was expecting were never delivered and the man disappeared.
The company notified Europol of the incident, which in turn alerted Singaporean authorities to block the transaction. Once Singaporean authorities detected the suspicious transaction, they were able to arrest the man on March 25.
Europol and law enforcement agencies around the world are battling to combat pandemic. The agency published a report in March describing how the crime landscape has changed due to the coronavirus, including how “criminals have been quick to exploit the crisis, adapting their techniques or engaging in new criminal activities.”
These include profiteering from protective gear and medicines and the illegal trade in fake preventive or curative treatments for the coronavirus. Taking advantage of workers who now rely on teleconferencing services and digital solutions, and capitalizing on the anxiety and fear felt by the general public, they are creating online scams.
“The number of cyberattacks against organizations and individuals is significant and expected to increase,” Europol said. “Criminals have used the COVID-19 crisis to carry out pandemic-themed social engineering attacks, distributing various malware packages […] and are also likely to seek to exploit a growing number of attack vectors as more employers allow connections to their organizations’ systems for remote work.”
Last month, Europol seized €13 million in medicines illegally marketed to consumers as fake treatments or preventive measures for COVID-19. Operation Pangea involved police forces from 90 countries and resulted in the dismantling of 37 organised crime groups and the seizure of 4.4 million packages of medicines, most of which were painkillers and antibiotics.
