FBI disrupts international cyber crime ring

The FBI announced Friday that it has disrupted an international ring
of cyber criminals who together stole $70 million by using a Trojan
horse virus.

According to the FBI, the thieves allegedly targeted small- to
medium-sized companies, towns, churches and individuals by infecting
their computers with malware that captured passwords, account numbers
and other data used to log into online banking accounts. The group
attempted to steal $220 million and ended up with $70 million from
victims’ bank accounts.

“As today’s arrests show, the modern,
high-tech bank heist does not require a gun, a mask, a note or a
getaway car. It requires only the Internet and ingenuity,” said
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara on Thursday. “But today’s
coordinated operation demonstrates that these 21st-century bank robbers
are not completely anonymous; they are not invulnerable. Working with
our colleagues here and abroad, we will continue to attack this threat
and bring cyber criminals to justice.”

Most of the accused hailed
from Eastern Europe; many were based in
Ukraine, where several worked as Web developers. Ten suspects were
arrested in New
York on Thursday, with another 10 having been arrested previously. The
FBI is still seeking 17 others and released a wanted poster
featuring their likenesses on Friday.

The FBI worked closely with
authorities from the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Ukraine to
apprehend the suspects. A senior FBI official credited the international
cooperation for bringing the suspects before a judge in Manhattan.

“This
was a major theft ring,” said Gordon Snow, assistant director of the
FBI’s Cyber Division. “Global criminal activity on this scale is a
threat to our financial infrastructure, and it can only be effectively
countered through the kind of international cooperation we have seen in
this case.”

The suspects taken into custody in New York are charged with using hundreds of bank accounts under fake names to receive more than $3 million from identity theft. The hackers would take over the victims’ bank accounts and transfers of thousands of dollars at a time to these “money mules.” Many of the U.S. money mules were recruited from overseas and created bank accounts using fake documents and phony names.

According to the FBI, once they received the money, the mules would either wire it back to their bosses in Eastern Europe or withdraw it as cash and smuggle it out of the country. They were allegedly paid a commission for their involvement.

“This advanced cybercrime ring is a disturbing example of organized crime in the 21st century — high-tech and widespread. The 36 defendants indicted by our office stole from ordinary citizens and businesses using keyboards — not a gun,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.

The FBI’s investigation began in May 2009 after agents in Omaha, Neb., were alerted to fraudulent payments made to 46 separate bank accounts.