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| Phishers steal money and confidential data from
internet users. |
Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global
network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have welcomed
the news that Japanese authorities have arrested eight people
suspected of being part of a phishing gang.
The Tokyo-based group is alleged to have stolen from
approximately 700 people a total of 100 million yen (approximately
$900,000) by drawing victims to a fake Yahoo Japan auction website.
According to police, the gang used the stolen identities of web
surfers to create fake auctions offering watches, luxury handbags,
and MP3 players on the real Yahoo website, which is Japan's largest
internet auction service.
However, the gang never intended to deliver the goods and kept
the money that was wired to them by innocent purchasers.
34-year-old Takayuki Matsuoka and 38-year-old Akio Usami, who
have been named as the ringleaders by police, have been apprehended
in Tokyo. A 20-year-old man, Naoya Takahashi, was also arrested and
is said to have created the fake website to steal personal data
from unsuspecting web surfers. A further four other men and one
woman have also been arrested.
The gang are being charged with fraud and unauthorized computer
access, according to the police who say that the group has been
active since June 2005.
"The Japanese police should be applauded for taking a tough
stand against organized phishing criminals," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos. "As gangs becoming more
sophisticated in the ways in which they attempt to steal
information from online banking users, computer crime authorities
around the world need to work more closely with each other to bring
them to justice."
Sophos experts encourage all computer users to learn how to
reduce the risk
of being hit by a phishing attack.
"All computer users should exercise caution over the emails they
open, which websites they visit, and who they give their
confidential information to as they may find they are falling into
a hacker's trap," continued Cluley.
Sophos recommends companies protect their desktops, servers and
gateways with a consolidated solution to
thwart the threats of viruses, spyware, phishing and spam.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.