Police Catches Group of Online Thieves

A group of 13 computer-savvy youth was caught by the police on October 9, 2006 because it attempted phishing operations. They allegedly cheated 26 people by tricking on their accounts and stealing RM 36,000 in two weeks.

Online identity theft catches up with global virus epidemic facilitating fraud that has now drawing people's attention. phishing attempts through e-mail and fake websites entice Internet users to provide their personal banking information, which the cyber crooks use to steal money from their accounts.

All the 26 victims' accounts were in the same local bank. When the fraudulent transfers occurred, the bank reported to the police. Based on the report, the police checked with many homes and cyber cafes in three states. After two weeks of monitoring, they caught the 13 suspects, including a woman.

According to Ismail Yatim, 'Commercial Crime Department' assistant director ACP, four of the suspects were students of college and university. He said the youth were skilled in different fields and they joined together to commit theft of confidential data of unwitting victims. The losses might have been much more if the bank had not alerted the police about the fraudulent operations.
The checking process showed that the group phished e-mails through a foreign server and the cops tried to ensure if they had international contacts. The team of 13 targeted people who used online banking. They tricked account holders by sending them fraudulent e-mails with a link requesting them to update their accounts. As the victim opened the link, a web page appeared that looked similar to the bank's site.

The innocent victims would login submitting their usernames and passwords that were directed to a new website created by the group to trap the victims. With the available information, the crooks would enter the victims' accounts and transfer money to another account from where they would withdraw the cash.

Cyber criminals write exciting statements in their phishing e-mails meant for the recipients to respond immediately with the desired information. Thus protection from such e-mails requires careful examination of the claims and getting in touch with e-mail generating companies.

Related article: Police Arrests Six Suspects Associated With TJX Credit Scam

» SPAMfighter News - 10/17/2006