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Police arrest 13 in strike against international phishing gang

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Police arrest 13 in strike against international phishing gang
An email attempt to get unwary victims to send bank details. Photo: DPA

Berlin police smashed an international computer “phishing” gang accused of stealing at least €1.3 million from at least 1,000 computers having taken details of people’s bank accounts and using them to transfer money.

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Around 115 officers were used to raid 11 flats across the city on Tuesday, arresting 13 men and confiscating large amounts of material to be used as evidence. Arrest warrants were outstanding on six of the men, including Russians, Lithuanians and Israelis as well as Germans, the daily Tagesspiegel reported on Wednesday.

A police spokesman said a still-unknown ringleader had been operating from somewhere in the former Soviet Union, using a Trojan computer program to gain access to victims’ computers and steal their online banking information.

He then transferred money from their accounts to a string of at least 40 bank accounts operated by his allied “finance agents”. They were then overseen by other members of the gang as they withdrew money and handed it over.

The Local/hc

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