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On June 11, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Operation Wire Wire had led to 74 arrests in the United States and overseas. The six-month coordinated effort targeted hundreds of alleged business email compromise (BEC) scammers. DOJ also reported that authorities seized nearly $2.4 million and disrupted or recovered approximately $14 million in fraudulent wire transfers. These are results reported for that operation in 2018—not current BEC-loss figures.
What was Operation Wire Wire?
Operation Wire Wire was a six-month law-enforcement effort coordinated and funded by the FBI. More than two weeks of intensified enforcement activity culminated in the arrests announced on June 11, 2018. The U.S. Department of Justice described the operation as targeting hundreds of alleged BEC scammers.
DOJ reported 29 arrests in Nigeria. It also said three arrests were made in Canada, Mauritius and Poland, without specifying how those three were divided among the countries. The reported totals were 74 arrests overall, nearly $2.4 million seized, and approximately $14 million in fraudulent wire transfers disrupted or recovered. The seized funds and the transfers disrupted or recovered are separate figures.
What is a BEC scam?
Business email compromise is a form of cyber-enabled financial fraud that often targets employees who can access company finances, especially at businesses that work with foreign suppliers or regularly send wire transfers. A scammer may impersonate an employee or business partner and ask a target to transfer money to an account controlled by criminals.
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A BEC scam does not necessarily require an attacker to take over an email account or break into a computer network. DOJ cautioned that schemes may instead use impersonation and may also involve checks or the theft of personal or employee tax information. The common risk is a fraudulent request moving through an otherwise ordinary payment or information-handling process.
What did authorities say the operation uncovered?
Alongside the arrest and financial figures, DOJ said the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) had received reports of more than $3.7 billion in BEC and Email Account Compromise losses at the time of its 2018 announcement. That is a historical cumulative figure reported then; it should not be read as a current loss estimate.
Authorities also described money mules—people who receive and forward stolen funds. DOJ said a mule may participate knowingly or unwittingly and may keep some of the money. Local and state partners charged 15 alleged money mules in connection with the effort; that figure is not a count of everyone arrested, nor does it establish that all 74 people had the same role.
Which agencies and countries took part?
DOJ said the FBI coordinated the operation with the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Department of the Treasury and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Investigative participants named in the announcement included the FBI, Secret Service, Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, FinCEN and IRS Criminal Investigation.
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International partners named in the releases included Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission; Canadian law-enforcement agencies, including the Toronto Police Service; authorities in Mauritius and Poland; and police in Indonesia and Malaysia. Enforcement actions were reported in the United States and overseas.
Did the arrests mean 74 people were convicted?
No. The 74 figure refers to arrests reported by authorities, not convictions. DOJ’s related release explains that an indictment, criminal complaint or information is an accusation; defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The operation announcements do not establish the final court outcome for every person arrested or charged, so allegations should not be described as proven conduct.
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What officials said at the time
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in the June 11, 2018 DOJ release: “Fraudsters can rob people of their life’s savings in a matter of minutes. These are malicious and morally repugnant crimes.”
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said the operation demonstrated the FBI’s commitment to disrupting and dismantling criminal enterprises targeting American citizens and businesses, and to working with international law-enforcement partners to protect people’s assets.
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