Internet Virus Steals Over 3 Million from US Bank Accounts

Written on October 1, 2010 – 2:34 am | by Chloe Gatenby

So far Federal prosecutors have charged more than 60 people allegedly involved in a global cybercrime scheme that used the Zeus Trojan and other Internet viruses to steal over $3 million dollars from U.S. bank accounts.

The U.S. investigation is related to the arrest of 19 people in London in a probe into an international cybercrime group that allegedly stole at least $9.5 million from U.K. banks. The U.K. banks included HSBC Holdings and Royal Bank of Scotland Group.

According to court documents the scheme was engineered by hackers in Eastern Europe who used malware, known as the Zeus Trojan, to access bank accounts of small and midsize businesses and municipal entities in the U.S.

The malware is often attached to a seemingly legitimate email message and has the virus attached, prosecutors said. The virus then secretly monitors a person’s computer activity and steals usernames and passwords, prosecutors said.

“The mouse and the keyboard can be far more effective than the gun and the mask,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara told reporters.

Persons known as “money mules” were recruited to open bank accounts in the U.S. to receive fraudulent wire transfers, prosecutors said.

Identity Theft Protection Services