Business Email Compromise (BEC) , Email Security & Protection , Email Threat Protection

West African Scammers Graduate to Sophisticated Phishing

Crane Hassold of Agari Also Sees Uptick in Money Laundering via Cryptocurrency
Crane Hassold, senior director of threat research, Agari

West African fraudsters have moved beyond Nigerian prince scams and embraced business email compromises and other types of attacks, says Crane Hassold of Agari.

See Also: Insights on Financial Supply Chain Compromise

Regardless of the choice of attack or refinement, the end goal remains the same, he says: "At the end of the day, it's all about exploiting people."

In a video interview with Information Security Media Group at RSA Conference 2019 in San Francisco, Hassold discusses:

  • How West African scammers and threat groups are evolving;
  • How criminals identify targets;
  • Attackers' increased use of cryptocurrency for money laundering purposes.

Hassold is senior director of threat research at Agari. He previously served as the director of threat intelligence for PhishLabs, as well as an analyst at the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit and Cyber Behavioral Analysis Center, among other roles.


About the Author

Mathew J. Schwartz

Mathew J. Schwartz

Executive Editor, DataBreachToday & Europe, ISMG

Schwartz is an award-winning journalist with two decades of experience in magazines, newspapers and electronic media. He has covered the information security and privacy sector throughout his career. Before joining Information Security Media Group in 2014, where he now serves as the executive editor, DataBreachToday and for European news coverage, Schwartz was the information security beat reporter for InformationWeek and a frequent contributor to DarkReading, among other publications. He lives in Scotland.




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