A Nigerian Instagram “influencer” has been extradited to the U.S. after being arrested in Dubai last week on multiple allegations of money laundering, hacking, identity theft and bank fraud.

Raymon Abbas (pictured), known online as Hushpuppi, had 2.4 million Instagram followers at the time he was arrested, with the account showing various photos of him with luxury cars, designer clothes and traveling the world in private jets.

That wealth was all gained illegally, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal complaint filed in late June. It claims that Abbas financed his lifestyle through crime and that he’s one of the leaders of a transnational network that facilitates computer intrusions, fraudulent schemes including business email compromise or BEC schemes and money laundering. Abas is said to have participated in schemes that stole hundreds of millions of dollars from victims.

The FBI’s interest in Abbas first came about following evidence unearthed in an investigation into the theft of $922,000 from a victim in the U.S. in a BEC scam. The FBI arrested alleged co-conspirators in Los Angeles and then uncovered messages between them and Abbas.

Alleged victims of Abbas were not in the U.S. alone, with one alleged scheme involving an attempted to steal £100 million ($125 million) from an English Premier League Football Club.

In many of the fraudulent schemes, Abbas and his associates are accused of posing as trusted employees or customers of targeted companies to trick employees into sending sums of money to bank accounts they controlled.

“While cybercriminals are continuously thinking up new ways to perform fraud, the methods many consider ‘old school’ are still highly functional,” Brandon Hoffman, chief information security officer and head of security strategy at information technology service management company Netenrich Inc., told SiliconANGLE. “The emails we all joke about, including ones from a Nigerian prince, have always been a little close to home and most assuredly rooted in reality. Fortunately for the good guys, leveraging money mules to move money and pushing it along the wire always leaves a trail for law enforcement to follow.”

Hank Schless, senior manager of security solutions at mobile security company Lookout Inc., said copycats could step in. “A likely spike in BEC attacks following this high-profile arrest could also lead to more complex methods, such as delivering these messages via SMS or messaging apps,” he said. “Security teams need to stay ahead of this by viewing BEC under the phishing vector of the mobile threat landscape and ensuring all employee endpoints, especially mobile devices, are properly protected from these types of attacks.”

Photo: Hushpuppi/Instagram