What happened
Announced on September 10, 2019, Operation reWired was a four-month international action against business email compromise. It resulted in 281 arrests, 74 in the United States and 207 abroad, including 167 in Nigeria, 18 in Turkey and 15 in Ghana. Authorities seized approximately $3.7 million and disrupted around $118 million in fraudulent transfers. One case involved a community college and an energy company that lost about $5 million, of which banks froze roughly $3.6 million.
How the deception worked
Operators compromised business and personal email accounts through phishing and credential theft, then monitored correspondence to time an intervention around a real pending payment. When a legitimate invoice, payroll run or closing disbursement was in flight, they injected altered banking instructions that appeared to come from the known counterparty. Victims spanned companies, schools, energy firms, seniors and real estate purchasers. Proceeds were funneled through networks of money mules and fictitious identities before being sent overseas. Thirty-nine FBI field offices and partners in nine countries coordinated arrests, seizures and mule warning letters simultaneously to disrupt both the fraud and its laundering infrastructure.
AI involvement · No AI reported
No AI or synthetic media reported.
The control that would have caught it· our reading, not a claim from the sources
Because criminal proceeds move through domestic mule accounts within hours, rapid reporting to the FBI's IC3 Recovery Asset Team is the single most effective control after a diverted payment is discovered.
Sources (3)
- 281 Arrested Worldwide in Coordinated International Enforcement Operation Targeting Hundreds of Individuals in Business Email Compromise SchemesU.S. Department of Justice·justice.govOpen ↗
- Operation reWiredFederal Bureau of Investigation·fbi.govOpen ↗
- 74 Arrested in Coordinated International Enforcement Operation Targeting Hundreds of Individuals in Business Email Compromise SchemesU.S. Department of Justice·justice.govOpen ↗
This entry summarises public reporting. It is not a legal finding, and details can change as investigations conclude. Found an error? Send a correction.