- Police, FBI Arrest Three Internet Fraud Suspects In Edo, Lagos
- FBI, Microsoft support probe into phishing operations
- Principal suspect linked to RaccoonO365 phishing toolkit
The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre, in collaboration with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Secret Service, has arrested three suspected internet fraudsters in Edo and Lagos states.
The arrests were confirmed on Thursday in a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that according to the police, the suspects allegedly targeted the email systems of major corporate organisations, mostly within Nigeria, using phishing links and malicious software.
Hundeyin said the arrests followed credible and actionable intelligence provided by Microsoft Corporation and the FBI, which revealed the use of a sophisticated phishing toolkit known as RaccoonO365.
He explained that the toolkit was designed to create fake Microsoft login portals to harvest user credentials and gain unauthorised access to email platforms belonging to corporate, financial and educational institutions.
“Consequently, the NPF National Cybercrime Centre initiated a coordinated, intelligence driven operation in collaboration with Microsoft, the FBI and the United States Secret Service,” Hundeyin said.
He added that investigations traced multiple cases of unauthorised Microsoft 365 account access between January and September 2025 to phishing emails that closely mimicked legitimate Microsoft authentication pages.
“These activities resulted in business email compromise, data breaches and financial losses across multiple jurisdictions,” he said.
Hundeyin said operatives were deployed to Lagos and Edo states based on precise intelligence, leading to the arrest of three suspects.
Searches carried out at their residences led to the recovery of laptops, mobile phones and other digital devices, which forensic analysis linked to the fraudulent scheme.
Further investigations identified Okitipi Samuel, also known as RaccoonO365 and Moses Felix, as the principal suspect and developer of the phishing infrastructure.
Police said he operated a Telegram channel where phishing links were sold for cryptocurrency and hosted fake login portals on Cloudflare using stolen or fraudulently obtained email credentials.
However, Hundeyin noted that investigations found no evidence linking the two other suspects to the creation or operation of the phishing infrastructure.
The Nigeria Police Force reaffirmed its commitment to protecting Nigeria’s digital space through advanced technology, strong international partnerships and thorough investigative and prosecutorial processes to counter emerging cyber threats.
