According to Australian media reports, four Sydney-based high school students, aged 15 to 17, have been charged with helping an organised criminal gang to steal millions of pounds from online bank accounts, in a global internet banking scam operating from Australia to Eastern Europe. Nine more suspects have also been arrested, including two men who are alleged to be ringleaders of the international crime gang's Australian operation.

According to the reports, the criminals used bogus adverts and spam emails that secretly installed backdoor Trojans onto computers in order to capture passwords and other bank details. The Australian teenagers were then recruited as "mules" to aid in the transfer of stolen funds into Eastern European-based bank accounts.

"Criminal gangs are getting more and more sophisticated with their tricks to make millions of pounds out of innocent people; tempting naive teenagers with the opportunity of making a quick buck is another one of their schemes," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "It's reassuring to all online bank customers that these criminals are being uncovered and charged, however, users should still be on their guard when banking online."

Check the website you are visiting is secure Secure Server

Be cautious with emails and personal data

Keep your computer secure ArmourPlate

Always report suspicious activity

Computer users should also be on their guard against unwittingly becoming mules in one of these internet scams. Compromised accounts can easily be accessed by criminals to help launder money.

Corpex recommends that installing anti-virus software and keeping it up to date will help detect and disable malicious software, while using anti-spam software will stop malicious emails from reaching you.

Source: Sophos

BACK TO NEWS MENU

VIEW NEXT ARTICLE