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02/23/2020
Agari Uncovers National BEC Check Fraud Ring
Streetinsider.com
FOSTER CITY, Calif., Feb. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Agari, the market share leader in phishing defense solutions for the enterprise, announced today the results of an ongoing investigation by its Agari Cyber Intelligence Division (ACID) into a threat actor group which built an intricate network of check mules that has bilked thousands of companies.
Dubbed Exaggerated Lion, the threat actor group is distinct from typical cybercriminal organizations in two ways. First, it uses physical checks to cash out money pilfered through business email compromise (BEC) attacks. For comparison, the Agari Q1 Email Fraud and Identity Deception Trends report found gift cards (62%) were the preferred cash-out method in most BEC scams, followed by direct transfers (22%) and payroll diversion (16%). And second, unlike most other BEC rings that are centrally located in Nigeria, the Exaggerated Lion actors are spread around multiple countries in Africa, including Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya.
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