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Home | News | Brazilian police hold 53 over $30m Internet fraud
Brazilian police hold 53 over $30m Internet fraud
Friday, 29 October 2004Federal police in Brazil have reportedly arrested more than 50 people on allegations of Internet fraud.
The arrests, made across four states in the north of Brazil, involve suspected members of a group believed to have stolen $30 million (£16 million).
Police said that the hackers sent identity theft emails to Brazilian online banking customers in a bid to capture their bank account details. The emails contained attachments with virus able to store details of people's Internet bank accounts and the details were then used to access bank accounts.
Most of the Brazilian suspects are believed to be under 25-years-old and investigators said that 18 of the suspects had already been imprisoned for similar offences in the past. A total of 160 policemen took part in the operation. According to security company Sophos, banks that were targeted in the Trojan horse attacks included Banco do Brasil, HSBC and Unibanco.
Cristiano Barbosa, who co-ordinated the operation, told the Jornal do Brasil newspaper: "They diverted money from email accounts across the country - mainly in the south or south-east where people use email more frequently."
Computer fraud experts reported last month that Brazil had become the global capital of hacking and Internet fraud.
The arrests, made across four states in the north of Brazil, involve suspected members of a group believed to have stolen $30 million (£16 million).
Police said that the hackers sent identity theft emails to Brazilian online banking customers in a bid to capture their bank account details. The emails contained attachments with virus able to store details of people's Internet bank accounts and the details were then used to access bank accounts.
Most of the Brazilian suspects are believed to be under 25-years-old and investigators said that 18 of the suspects had already been imprisoned for similar offences in the past. A total of 160 policemen took part in the operation. According to security company Sophos, banks that were targeted in the Trojan horse attacks included Banco do Brasil, HSBC and Unibanco.
Cristiano Barbosa, who co-ordinated the operation, told the Jornal do Brasil newspaper: "They diverted money from email accounts across the country - mainly in the south or south-east where people use email more frequently."
Computer fraud experts reported last month that Brazil had become the global capital of hacking and Internet fraud.