Nearly 30 years after being caught by the FBI, "The Analyzer" is back in the headlines. An international network suspected of running large-scale investment scams across Europe for years has been dismantled in recent weeks, with 46-year-old Israeli national Ehud Tenenbaum at the center of the investigation.
Tenenbaum became a household name in the late 1990s and was widely regarded at the time as "one of the world's most sophisticated hackers."
Ehud Tenenbaum in 2008
(Photo: Michael Kramer)
Tenenbaum rose to prominence in 1998 after being arrested by the FBI for hacking into computer systems belonging to NASA, the Pentagon, the Knesset and the U.S. military, where he allegedly installed Trojan horse software on some of the systems.
Then just 18 years old and described as a computer prodigy, he was tried in Israel, sentenced to 18 months in prison and served eight months after receiving early release.
A decade later, he faced further legal trouble in Canada, where he was arrested and charged, along with three associates, in connection with a fraud worth more than 1.8 million Canadian dollars.
According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Dutch police believe Tenenbaum played a central role in an international criminal organization that used fake online advertisements to lure hundreds of people in the Netherlands and Belgium into fraudulent investment schemes. Authorities estimate the organization generated more than 100 million euros (115 million dollars) a month from victims in multiple countries.
Dutch police announced Wednesday that the organization behind the fraud has largely been dismantled. The network allegedly used online advertisements featuring well-known Dutch and Belgian celebrities, falsely suggesting they endorsed investment platforms or had earned substantial profits through them. In reality, the celebrities' names and images were used without permission. Belgian prosecutors and Dutch authorities say more than 200 victims in Belgium and the Netherlands lost tens of millions of euros to the scam.
Tenenbaum was arrested on May 26 at an airport in Poland at the request of Dutch authorities. He has since been extradited to the Netherlands and remains in custody pending legal proceedings. Prosecutors believe he held a central role in the organization. "The unique knowledge and expertise of the main suspect were the reason the organization could not be dismantled for such a long time," Dutch police said.
Authorities identified around 20 call centers operating worldwide, employing more than 700 people posing as financial advisers. Each call center targeted victims in a different country. Belgian police arrested five alleged employees earlier this month, suspecting they managed the fraudulent operation from Cyprus. The arrests were part of a large-scale international operation involving Cypriot police, Dutch police, Europol and the British military base police in Cyprus.