Aussie student stooges hauled in for Internet banking hacks

Posted on 6 Jan 2005 at 18:05

Four Sydney students found their pocket money strategies landed them in hot water with the law when it was revealed they were using their bank accounts to transfer money out of cracked online bank accounts.

Australia's Daily Telegraph reports that New South Wales police arrested four students operating as mules for an Internet scam run by a Russia-based crime gang. The gang infected computers with a virus that monitored activities recording passwords and other sensitive information and sending it back.

It appears the teenagers were well aware of what they were getting into. They revealed that they had agreed to set up bank accounts to which the stolen money could be transferred in return for a cut of the profits. One said she received AUS$1,300 for wiring AUS$98,000 of stolen funds to the gang.

Because the students set up bank accounts under false names, police say it is impossible to quantify the amount of money involved. Currently 13 Australians have been charged with helping in the scam, stealing more than $600,000 from the online accounts of 61 people. But the total could run into millions of dollars, and some victims may not even be aware they have been robbed.

Police say they expect to arrest 15 others in connection with the scam over the next few weeks.

'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 UK security company 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.'

Author: Matt Whipp