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International investigators have busted a vast Internet fraud network and charged 38 suspects, most of them Romanians living in the United States, the Justice Department said Monday.
The suspects are accused of using a technique known as "phishing," or sending messages to Internet users that appear to come from their bank, eBay or PayPal in order to get their banking information and steal their money.
The phishing was done by Romanian hackers who transmitted the information to US-based accomplices, who used the information to make fake bank cards and withdraw cash from ATM machines, according to the indictment.
Following a probe led by American and Romanian investigators, 38 suspects -- 27 Romanians, five Vietnamese, three Americans, one Cambodian, one Pakistani and one Mexican -- were charged.
Most of the suspects were located in California and seven were in the northeastern state of Connecticut.
Some of the charges were brought one year ago but remained under wraps until now. California police were proceeding with the arrests of nine suspects on Monday, officials said.
"International organized crime poses a serious threat not only to the United States and Romania, but to all nations," deputy attorney general Mark Filip said in a statement.
"Through cooperation with our international partners, we can disrupt and dismantle these enterprises, just as we have done today with these indictments and arrests."
He gave no details on the victims' nationalities or the time period in which the alleged fraud was committed.
-- AFP
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