F.B.I. Indicts Dozens in Online Bank Fraud [New York Times]
Last week, the FBI announced the indictments and arrests of 53 individuals in an organized financial data phishing ring. Deemed Operation Phish Phry, the investigation started with a rash of online banking thefts which ultimately totaled $2 million. Victims were scammed out of their online banking account credentials via phishing emails sent from conspirators in Egypt. The emails appeared to be legitimate communications from their financial institution, but were actually directing the victims to hand over their account information via a web site the scammers operated.
Members of the phishing ring operating stateside drained the victims bank accounts with the stolen login data, funneling a percentage back to their Egyptian accomplices. In total, the ring included 53 in the U.S. and 47 in Egypt. The FBI said it was the largest cybercrime ring they had ever nabbed.
Phishing capers commonly target login credentials for online banking or other services. Just last week, thousands of Hotmail users fell victim to a phishing scam. Never give out your login credentials to anyone and carefully inspect emails from online service providers for telltale signs of phishing scams to avoid becoming a victim.
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