Four people have been arrested in connection with an investigation into a smishing fraud at the National Commercial Bank (NCB).

The Major Organised Crime and Anti-corruption Agency (MOCA) supported by police officers from St. Catherine and St. Andrew, held the  four suspects this morning.

The MOCA statement says the four are accused of stealing over $80 million through phishing, smishing and vishing attacks between April 2022 and December 2023.

They are alleged to have defrauded eight ncb account holders by transferring the funds to 23 beneficiaries who were involved in the scheme. 

The four are expected to be charged shortly.

Phishing and smishing scams refer to the use of fraudulent emails and texts respectively, fashioned to mirror a legitimate company’s communication with the aim of soliciting the victim’s access information.  

Director of Communications at MOCA, Major Basil Jarrett said this morning’s operation and the arrests underline the important work of the agency’s cyber-crime investigation unit, in light of the growing threat of cyber and cyber-enabled crimes. 

Major Jarrett also urged the public to remain vigilant in their cyber activities by checking the legitimacy of their communications and the online entities that they are doing business with and taking steps to secure their confidential information online, especially as we go into the busy christmas season. 

He also encouraged members of the public who have information on this and other types of illegal cyber activity to contact MOCA.