$80 million cyber theft at NCB, four suspects arrested by MOCA

Four persons were arrested this morning as part of an investigation into the alleged theft of over $80 million from the National Commercial Bank (NCB).

The operation involved personnel from the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) and the St Andrew South, Kingston Eastern, St Catherine South, and St Catherine North divisions.

MOCA, in a media release on Wednesday, said the suspects are accused of stealing the millions through phishing, smishing, and vishing attacks between April 2022 and December 2023.

They are alleged to have defrauded eight NCB account holders by transferring the funds to 23 beneficiaries who were involved in the scheme.

The four are expected to be charged shortly, according to MOCA.

Phishing and smishing scams refer to the use of fraudulent emails and texts, respectively, fashioned to mirror a legitimate company’s communication with the aim of soliciting the victim’s access information.

Director of Communications at MOCA, Major Basil Jarrett, stated that this morning’s operation and the subsequent arrests underline the important work of the agency’s Cyber-Crime Investigation Unit, in light of the growing threat of cyber and cyber-enabled crimes.

Jarrett also urged the public to remain vigilant in their online activities by checking the legitimacy of communications and the online entities they are dealing with, and by taking steps to secure their confidential information, especially as we go into the busy Christmas season.

He also encouraged members of the public who have information on this and other types of illegal cyber activity to call the MOCA tip line at 888-MOCA-TIP.

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