A joint operation by the US's Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit of Homeland Security and the South African Police Service's Hawks has led to the arrest of 20 people, including 11 in SA.
The arrests were on charges stemming from cyber mass-marketing fraud schemes, said a statement issued by the US and SA authorities. A probe was started in October 2011 after US law enforcement officials were contacted by a Mississippi woman, claiming she was victimised in a sweetheart scam.
According to the statement, the unnamed victim received a "suspicious package in the mail requesting her to reship the merchandise to an address in Pretoria, South Africa. The investigation later revealed the merchandise was purchased using stolen personal identity information and fraudulent credit card information of a person in the United States."
The locally-arrested suspects, 11 Nigerians and one South African woman, are linked to a global scam, which allegedly purchases shipping labels from the US Postal Service among other couriers with stolen identities or false credit card information.
Investigators have so far identified hundreds of people who fell victim to this scam in the US and the fraud has resulted in the loss of millions of dollars, the statement says. Once the merchandise reaches SA, it is allegedly onsold over the Internet.
During the operation, investigators seized computers, laptops, cellphones and notebooks.
The suspects were due to appear in the Pretoria Magistrates Court today on charges of fraud and theft, but this has not been confirmed. They will then be extradited to the US to face prosecution.
Hawks head, lieutenant-general Anwa Dramat, says the arrests were due to the collaborative efforts of law enforcement officials in SA and the US. Other members of the alleged criminal enterprise were arrested in Canada, California, Georgia, Indiana, New York, South Carolina and Wisconsin.
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