Man Face Charges of Phishing £600k from NatWest Bank

Security officials stated that a group of web fraudsters, which employed a technically sophisticated virus to defraud accounts from the compromised systems of NatWest customers and stole their banking information, are on trial in London's Southwark Crown Court.

Explaining the attack technique, security experts said - the malware redirected surfers to a forged NatWest bank website festooned with the logo of NatWest for an 'added air of genuineness' which prompted victims to reveal their passwords, telephone numbers and pin numbers, claiming that the 'additional security actions' had been initiated 'to keep them safe'.

Once the 'harmful software' had attacked their systems, it waited until they logged on their accounts, verified there was sufficient money in them and then got indulged itself in cash transfer processes.

Dominic Connolly, Prosecutor, explained that the Trojan used by the group enabled account holders to carry on their usual transactions but it secretly established new payee information, as per the news by DAILYMAIL.CO.UK on September 30, 2009. He informed that the next move was to quickly transfer cash into the alleged 'mule' accounts that worked under the group's control. After few days (possibly a week later), the innocent bank customer would realize that money had been stolen from his or her account.

Moreover, local intermediaries were used to rob the hacked accounts of UK victims, raiding an estimated £600,000 from the accounts of 138 NatWest customers in the process.

The court heard inquires which ultimately led to the arrest of an Uzbekistan citizen Azim Rahmanov, 24, from Deptford, south-east London. While the police searching the place carefully, they discovered a huge sum of incriminating stuff, including the bank cards made by the group.

Azim refused conspiracy charges to con and exchanging criminal property. The court heard the plea of his 25-year-old brother Azamet and many others, who were also arrested during the investigation. They accepted the charges made against them.

Finally, security experts said that in spite of the arrests and online effort to stop the virus, others engaged in the fraud succeeded in carrying out further web raids.

Related article: Man Sues and Wins against ISP for Spamming Mail

» SPAMfighter News - 10/20/2009