With 16 Phones And 17 SIM Cards, Nigerian ‘Runs’ $2.2m Internet Scam From Australian Prison

A 43-year-old Nigerian man has been charged for leading a cartel of email fraudsters right from inside an Australian immigration detention Centre in Sydney’s Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Australia.

The scam was allegedly run using 16 phones and 17 SIM cards.

Quoting the New South Wales Police, BBC said the man, whose identity has been concealed, led the $2.2 million scam with three others — a man and two women aged between 20 and 36.

The nationality and names of his accomplices were not revealed.

They were charged by the Australian Police for alleged identity theft and romance scams.

The four fraudsters sent fake email messages to unsuspecting people, claiming they were from trusted companies.

The money had been transferred to unknown recipients in Nigeria and was unlikely to be recovered, said Supt Arthur Katsogiannis.

Supt Katsogiannis, Head of the New South Wales Gangs Squad, said Australian police and global law enforcement agencies would continue investigations to try to track down the money.

He urged companies to improve their cyber security, and be wary of suspicious requests to transfer funds.

“While there are many variables, generally, the perpetrators will ‘spoof’ or compromise corporate executive or employee email accounts and send email requests to an accounts-payable employee for an electronic funds transfer,” Katsogiannis said.