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DOJ: Almost 300 Email Scammers Arrested in Global Operation

Operation reWired resulted in 281 arrests throughout the world and the seizure of nearly $3.7 million.

The Department of Justice on Tuesday said 281 suspects have been arrested in connection with email scams and wire transfer fraud. The law enforcement effort, dubbed Operation reWired, was conducted over a four-month period, resulting in 281 arrests throughout the world and the seizure of nearly $3.7 million. The operation targeted “business email compromise” schemes, which involves creating scam emails that trick employees or vulnerable individuals into sending money, then using money mules to wire the funds back to the perpetrators, WIRED reports. “In unraveling this complex, nationwide identity theft and tax fraud scheme, we discovered that the conspirators stole more than 250,000 identities and filed more than 10,000 fraudulent tax returns, attempting to receive more than $91 million in refunds,” IRS Criminal Investigation Chief Don Fort said in a statement. Arrests were made in the U.S., Nigeria, Turkey, Ghana, France, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom.