How Scammers Stole $20 Million by Hacking Emails of Real Estate Agents – Here’s Why Small Firms Must Take Cybersecurity Seriously

A Nigerian national has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for robbing people of their life’s savings by hacking the emails of their real estate agents and swapping bank accounts. The story offers a clear example why small firms should take cybersecurity seriously.

33-year-old Babatunde Francis Ayeni, a citizen of Nigeria living in the United Kingdom at the time of his arrest, used a sophisticated business e-mail compromise (BEC) scheme targeting real estate transactions in the United States.