According to Australian media reports, four Sydney-based high
school students, aged 15 to 17, have been charged with helping an
organised criminal gang to steal millions of pounds from online
bank accounts, in a global internet banking scam operating from
Australia to Eastern Europe. Nine more suspects have also been
arrested, including two men who are alleged to be ringleaders of
the international crime gang's Australian operation.
According to the reports, the criminals used bogus adverts and
spam emails that secretly installed backdoor Trojans onto computers
in order to capture passwords and other bank details. The
Australian teenagers were then recruited as "mules" to aid in the
transfer of stolen funds into Eastern European-based bank
accounts.
"Criminal gangs are getting more and more sophisticated with
their tricks to make millions of pounds out of innocent people;
tempting naive teenagers with the opportunity of making a quick
buck is another one of their schemes," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant at Sophos. "It's reassuring to all online
bank customers that these criminals are being uncovered and
charged, however, users should still be on their guard when banking
online."
Sophos has produced a guide to help online bank customers avoid
becoming victims of these phishing attacks. Sophos has produced a
guide to help
online bank customers avoid becoming victims of these phishing
attacks.
Computer users should also be on their guard against unwittingly
becoming mules in one of these internet scams. Compromised accounts
can easily be accessed by criminals to help launder money. Further
information on how to avoid being a money mule can be found
here.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.