British Man Charged In New York With Hacking Into Bank Computers, Stealing Millions

By   ISBuzz Team
Writer , Information Security Buzz | May 11, 2022 04:44 am PST

According to Reuters, a British man has been charged in New York for hacking into email servers and computers belonging to U.S. banks and brokerages in order to access investors’ accounts, causing more than $5 million of losses.

Idris Dayo Mustapha, 32 and others are accused of using phishing and other means to obtain user names and passwords and access online bank and brokerage accounts from January 2011 to March 2018.  Prosecutors said the Lagos, Nigeria native and his co-conspirators at first transferred victims’ money to their own accounts. They said once banks began blocking the transfers, the conspirators would make unauthorized stock trades in hacked accounts, while simultaneously making profitable trades in the same stocks in their own accounts.

Is phishing one of the most lucrative options for cybercriminals? Does targeting large banks and stealing such high sums of money through this method make criminals more likely to get caught than aiming for smaller fish in the pond?

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Jake Moore
Jake Moore , Global Cyber Security Advisor
May 11, 2022 12:44 pm

Digital bank robberies are extremely rare but impressively lucrative should they pay off. When banks are targeted it is often thought they won’t be successful but this highlights the persistence of cybercriminals and what extents they will go to exploit any opportunity. Phishing is still the main attack vector and remains vulnerable on many levels. The human element within email manipulation clearly shows that we are still in a time where all staff need to be extra vigilant and cautious of every email.

Last edited 1 year ago by Jake Moore

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