Nigerian citizen Olayinka Olaniyi has been convicted for targeting colleges and universities in the United States with phishing attacks, the US Department of Justice reported late last week.
Olaniyi, along with co-conspirator Damilola Solomon Ibiwoye, sent phishing emails to employees at the Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Virginia, and other US institutions while living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Once they accessed employee credentials, they changed the destination for payroll deposits so money was directly sent to them. They also filed fake tax returns with data from employee W-2 forms, the DoJ says.
All in all, their attempted theft totaled over $6 million. Olaniyi was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, computer fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Ibiwoye pleaded guilty to similar charges and was sentenced to 3 years and 3 months in prison on January 31, 2018.
Olaniyi will be sentenced on October 22, 2018. Dark Reading
Pix: Nigeria Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu
