FBI says cyber crooks steal $40 million from businesses
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Cyber crooks using sophisticated hacking techniques have stolen $40 million from U.S. businesses, the FBI tells the Washington Post.
The nation's top law enforcement agency has seen a surge in cyber crime targeting small and medium-sized businesses, transferring funds electronically from hacked bank accounts to money mules who set up new accounts and take out the funds.
Steve Chabinsky, a deputy assistant director at the FBI Cyber Division, tells Brian Krebs of the Post that these cyber attacks have taken over online bank accounts and attempted to steal at least $85 million, skimming off amounts less than $10,000 at a time.
Going back to 2004, the FBI has tracked 205 cases of online theft totaling $40 million, the Post reported.
Much of the cybercriminal activity behind these thefts is linked to organized crime gangs spread out across Russia, Eastern Europe, the United States and elsewhere.
Federal prosecutors recently announced the indictment of 100 people in the U.S. and Egypt related to a criminal phishing operation. Phishing attacks using spam email messages attempt to steal online usernames and passwords for identity theft and fraud.
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