Police arrest man over 18-month online banking fraud at top UK bank

UK police investigating an 18 month-long online banking fraud have arrested a man in connection with computer misuse offences.

The 37-year-old was picked up at his home address in in Belvedere, Kent by officers from the Met's Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) who also seized computer equipment.

The arrest is part of an investigation prompted by a report from an unnamed high street bank that online accounts had been compromised over an 18-month period.

Victims' accounts had been accessed without authority, money stolen and personal details altered, say police.

Detective Inspector Mark Raymond, PCeU, says: "Online crime is never victimless. Such offences are indiscriminate and will be fully investigated where allegations are made."

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Comments: (1)

A Finextra member 30 March, 2012, 11:35

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While nobody is concluding that back-end detection tools will in themselves solve the rising figures of financial crime, it is clear from endorsements such as from the FFIEC that it is needed.

Yet it isn't getting any easier. Criminals are finding new ways to 'pick the locks' of financial institutions. As the new Javelin report shows, the rise of new channels such as smartphones and social media by incautious consumers has helped fuel the increase in identity fraud. As my colleague, Mike Urban who analyzes fraud patterns for Fiserv, has warned, people who download apps on their mobile devices are already being targeted by the criminals. The lure of a free game, particularly one not vetted through a company-operated app store, can result in users having programs that collect and distribute their personal information.

The battle against the criminals goes on. Yet by combining front and back end detection methods, financial institutions should be in a better position to align their detection activities with the way the modern day criminal perpetrates fraud across multiple channels, products and devices (including mobile).