Busted: A Hacker Bank Mafia
Law enforcement in the U.S. and Britain say they've nailed 80+ people for stealing millions of dollars from bank accounts using computer viruses. The group even had its own "money mules."
In Britain, 19 people were arrested for taking upwards of $9.5 million from banks like HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland, said The Wall Street Journal. In the U.S., federal and New York prosecutors have already charged more than 60 people, including "so-called money mules who are used to funnel money to the cybercrime group.... The scheme allegedly used the computer virus Zeus Trojan and other computer viruses." Zeus Trojan is a persistent and widespread computer virus that infects your PC, logs in to your bank account, and helpfully transfers your money to a criminal gang. The virus has even kept up with the trend toward smartphone apps, spawning a mobile version that can intercept text messages from your bank. Fun.
