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| The arrested man is suspected of running a
phishing campaign from his home near Blackpool. |
British police have arrested a 21-year-old man suspected of
running an email phishing scam from his home in Lytham, near
Blackpool.
The unnamed man is alleged to have sent bogus emails claiming to
be from the Smile online bank, with the intention of directing
unsuspecting users to a bogus website where he would steal their
banking usernames and passwords.
"Phishing is big business for internet criminals, and there can
be few internet users who have not received a phoney email claiming
to come from an online bank," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos. "Criminals are attempting to
steal bank account information from innocent computer users,
pilfering passwords, PIN and credit card numbers from unwary
internet surfers."
The National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) has withheld details of
how the suspect was tracked down for "operational reasons". Smile,
the internet banking arm of The Co-Operative Bank, is said to have
reported the phishing campaign to the NHTCU's attention last
month.
The man has been bailed, pending further investigations and
examination of seized computer equipment by a specialist data
forensics team.
Detective Chief Superindent Les Hynds of the NHTCU was reported
to say: "The message is clear. Do not do this at home, we will find
you. Anybody who thinks that they can copy the scam and get away
with it is sorely mistaken."
In April 2004, Lancashire police made what was said to be
Britain's first
phishing arrest in connection with a scam targetting Smile bank
customers.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.