Earlier this month, the US Justice Department offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the conviction of a Russian man, Maksim Yakubets, for his role in orchestrating an international cybercrime network ironically named “Evil Corp.” Yakubets and his associates stole roughly $100 million from US and European business and consumers. Yakubets, working with approximately 16 other elite cybercriminals, used strains of malware known informally as Dridex to steal banking credentials from employees at medium-sized companies in the US and Europe.
Yakubets managed a continuous supply of unwitting and complicit accomplices to help Evil Corp in their money-laundering scheme, transferring funds to members of the “corporations” based in Russia and Eastern Europe. These money mules are recruited via job solicitations that employ people to work from home with little effort and part-time.
