10 May 2010, 16:57

Police apprehend Romanian phishing gang

Phishing Teaser Romanian police investigators have exposed a gang of criminals who fraudulently gained online access to bank accounts and for months, continued to draw money from these accounts. The Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in Bucharest said that after conducting nationwide searches on Monday, the Romanian police questioned 28 suspects.

The gang is said, since October 2009, to have obtained sensitive data, such as online banking and credit card user names and passwords, particularly of Bank of America customers, via phishing attacks. The criminals then transferred money from these accounts via the Western Union financial service and withdrew the money in Vienna, Munich, Prague and Romania. According to the DIICOT, the damages incurred amount to approximately $1 million (£665,000).

Most of the suspects come from the Romanian city of Constanta on the Black Sea coast. The gang is said to have had 70 members in total. Romanian authorities collaborated with US agencies in investigating the case.

(crve)

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