Some scammers just aren’t content to scam the little guy. A 24-year-old Russian man targeted somewhat more well-to-do victims who were listed on the Forbes 400 richest people in the U.S.

Igor Klopov, the mastermind of the operation was arrested back in May and is being held in New York. His accomplices, some of whom he recruited through employment listing sites like Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com.

I have to wonder how he worded those “help wanted” listings!

Apparently, the operation involved obtaining information via the Internet that allowed them to access victim’s financial accounts and transfer money to accounts they had opened.

Cracking the operation was difficult due to the group’s fondness for using e-mail and instant messaging to communicate and changing their online identities on a regular basis.

The operation was finally shut down when an undercover investigator used the Internet to pose as one of Klopov’s accomplices.

Among the wealthy victims of the operation was Texas billionaire Charles J. Wyly Jr., who, along with his brother, Sam, headed the world’s largest arts and crafts chain, Michaels Stores, before they sold it last year for $6 billion.

Like the rest of us, I guess some crooks think big and really go for the gold when they select their victims.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!