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Bulgarians Score Phishing Bust
John Stith
Staff Writer
2006-01-23
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
Microsoft hailed Bulgarian authorities for scoring on an impressive bust of organized criminal phisherman. The Bulgarian National Services To Combat Organized Crime (NSCOC) for their work leading to the netting of a crime ring of eight people charged with operating an international phishing ring.
The NSCOC said they people were nabbed in three difference cities and are part of a larger entity. This group specifically targeted Microsoft as the centerpiece of their scam, using emails looking likes Microsoft emails to reel in their prey.
"We are pleased to have collaborated with the Bulgarian authorities in their swift and effective action in this case," said Horacio Gutierrez, associate general counsel for Microsoft Europe. "This is an important step forward in the combat against those who prey on Internet users. Microsoft believes vigorous criminal enforcement against phishers is essential to show cybercriminals that there are consequences to their illegal actions, and we are pleased to collaborate with law enforcement agencies around the world in this effort."
Known as the MBAM Gang (Microsoft Billing Account Management) by Microsoft investigators, the group allegedly spoofed e-mails to make them appear as if MSN customer service representatives sent them. The group also allegedly created dozens of fake Internet Web pages that mimicked the design, logo and trademark of official MSN pages.
By launching 46 attacks on 43 compromised servers located in 11 countries around the world, the group allegedly put Internet users' personal information at risk by inviting them to update personal financial data such as credit card, personal identification and verification numbers. The stolen financial data was allegedly used to make purchases and receive express money transfers for more than $50,000 (U.S.) on behalf of credit card owners from the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom.
While this is a solid bust, they only got eight members of an obviously larger group. There's much more work to be done on this front. As these scammers progress, so must the techniques of the authorities going after them.
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About the Author:
John is a staff writer for SecurityProNews covering cyber security.
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