The FBI has just started making arrests in a crackdown on perpetrators of phishing attacks. The current probe targets 100 defendants in U.S. and Egypt. Law enforcement has snared at least 33 culprits in California, Nevada and North Carolina (including a number right here in the Queen City - home of yours truly and Bank of America)and about 45 in Egypt so far. Local Charlotte TV news is all over the arrests but is having trouble articulating the issue.
More details are available from Brian Krebs of the Washington Post here.
The FBI project was code named "Operation Phish Phry." Nearly 20 defendants in the United States remain at large. The FBI said that authorities in Egypt have charged at least 47 indicted co-conspirators there in connection with the scam, which ran from January 2007 through September. It is the largest group of defendants to face charges in a cybercrime case, the FBI told Brian Krebs of the Washington Post.
Krebs research indicates the group is accused of moving more than $1.5 million to dummy accounts.
Gary Warner a noted cyber crimer researcher and blogger from the University of Alabama Birmingham has provided more details on the operation here.
Warner notes that the 85 page indictment, which was presented to a Grand Jury back in February was unsealed once the arrests began, and contains a wealth of information. WIRED Magazine's Threat Level blog was the first to have a copy of the indictment.
Warner notes that the basic charges are:
18 USC S 1349: Wire and Bank Fraud Conspiracy
18 USC $ 1344(1): Bank Fraud
18 USC $ 1028A: Aggravated Identity Theft
18 USC $ 371: Computer Fraud Conspiracy
18 USC $ 1030(a)(4): Computer Fraud
18 USC $ 1956(h): Money Laundering Conspiracy
Warner notes that the addition of the Aggravated Identity Theft charge provides an automatic and non-negotiable +2 years to each sentence, which guarantees none of these people will get a "slap on the wrist", unless the prosecution fails to show they used the identities of at least ten individuals.
A copy of the indictment is available here.
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