FBI Busts Cybercrime Ring: Dozens Arrested For Identity Theft Scheme

LOS ANGELES — Authorities said Wednesday they have arrested 33 people in breaking up a crime ring in the U.S. and Egypt in which an elaborate "phishing" scam bilked bank customers out of at least $1 million.

Federal authorities said a total of 53 people were named in an indictment, while authorities in Egypt have charged 47 others in connection with the scheme. The 33 arrests so far in the U.S. were mostly in Southern California but also in Nevada and North Carolina.

All the U.S. suspects were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, which potentially carry up to 20 years in federal prison, Assistant U.S. Attorney Wes Hsu said.

Some suspects, including alleged ringleader Kenneth Lucas, face additional charges including bank fraud and international money laundering. Lucas was awaiting an initial court appearance Wednesday and authorities didn't know if he had been assigned a defense lawyer.

"This may sound like run-of-the-mill bank fraud but it is much more serious," said Keith Bolcar, acting assistant director in charge of the FBI in Los Angeles. "This form of theft presents us with a new and elaborate form of con artist."

At the center of the scam were spam e-mails masquerading as legitimate requests from banks and asking customers to submit personal information online. As part of the scam, millions of these so-called "phishing" messages were sent out using automated programs, authorities said.

According to the indictment, hackers in Egypt worked with cohorts in the U.S. to collect bank account information, then illegally accessed those accounts and transferred money to newly created fraudulent accounts.

FBI Special Agent Jason Smolanoff said there were thousands of victims in the U.S. The amount of cash stolen was somewhere between $1 million to $2 million, primarily from Bank of America and Wells Fargo accounts.

Federal authorities in Los Angeles praised the cooperation they received from their Egyptian counterparts, and said the indictment represented the largest identity-theft operation ever in terms of the number of defendants.

Comments

[MikeyMike]

Doing the math, it was $1M spread among 53 people in the US and 47 more in Egypt. So, the average payout for each of the 100 people would have been 10K, right? I'm keeping my day job.

[redhead61]

Now if the Government would start taking the crooks who have sent out those fake IRS phishing emails that come 3 times or more in our email boxes.
I have forwarded to the IRS numerous times and they do NOTHING about it...

[JohnSawyer]

And now for the inevitable comparison:

"This may sound like run-of-the-mill bank fraud but it is much more serious," said Keith Bolcar, acting assistant director in charge of the FBI in Los Angeles. "This form of theft presents us with a new and elaborate form of con artist."

These days, a "run-of-the-mill bank fraud" is the type that nets billions, committed by the con artists who run the banks themselves. Any chance we'll see actual prosecution of a useful number of people there, rather than just a lot of indignation?

[ohmetoo]

The run of the mil bank fraud is going on between banks, financial institutions and Wall Street right now today! Sorry it is awful being such a cynic.

[John0563]

It's good to see that the FBI can actually do something. Apparently they couldn't be bothered to do their sworn job when it came to protecting an 11 year-old little girl. and finding the child pornographer living in that home. Even though they had the child's computer as evidence, and they were able to tell her dad what section of federal law was violated. But because the child's' mother was their suspect they refused to do any investigation.... I was succinctly told "Sorry, you're a MAN and we just can't help you..."

I also read recently where you were able to help Wynonna with HER issues concerning a child pornography scare, and HER children.

Enjoy all the good press with that, and make sure you point that out to congressional budget hearings when ever you can.

Meanwhile, my child's innocence has been lost forever. THANKS FOR DOING YOUR SWORN JOB SO COMPETENTLY!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgX3xWZFbFg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbDeSLwIQXw