Estonian police have detained a 24-year-old man
suspected of stealing money from hundreds of internet bank accounts
across several European countries.
The man is alleged to have sent a phishing Trojan horse, which
could steal usernames and passwords by logging keyboard strokes
remotely, to thousands of internet banking users.
The suspect has been detained following a year-long
investigation by computer crime authorities across Europe. The man
is being linked by police to the thefts of millions of pounds from
accounts in the UK, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and
Spain.
If charged and found guilty, he could face a five-year prison
sentence.
It is believed the suspect spread the Trojan horse by emailing
thousands of messages to internet users that promised job
offers.
The offers purported to come from legitimate organisations, such
as government institutions, banks and investment firms, but
actually contained a link to a webpage that infected computers with
the Trojan horse.
"The last 12 months have seen a dramatic rise in the number of
new viruses, worms and Trojan horses designed to steal the
keystrokes of innocent computer users. Our labs analyse
approximately 15 new pieces of malware which include this payload
every day, compared to only five a day this time last year," said
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at security software
company Sophos.
The British banking industry has published information about how
online bank customers can take steps to stay safe online at
www.banksafeonline.org.uk