News 

As part of an ongoing investigation into an international crime ring, specialising in identity theft through phishing campaigns, the NHTCU helped arrest US citizen Douglas Havard and British Lee Elwood in Leeds and Glasgow. Havard and Elwood have now been sentenced to six and four years respectively.

The pair were using identity and credit card information sent to them by organised gangs in Eastern Europe which had collected pools of such data through the use of phishing scams. These dupe victims into giving away valuable credentials through the use of spoofed banking and finance sites.

When police raided residences used by the pair, they discovered reams of forged documents for a multitude of identities, forged travellers

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cheques in euros and dollars, and even credit card holograms and other equipment.

The pair used the information to manufacture credit cards and buy goods online, which they would subsequently sell on online auction sites. They then took a cut of the proceeds before wiring the remainder back to the gangs in Eastern Europe.

The men were also key members of underground websites dedicated to defrauding people through stealing identities and financial information. A quick search on Google showed that forged credit cards are being offered for as little as $40 a pop. However the website through which this was advertised is now unavailable.

Detective Superintendent Mick Deats, Deputy Head of the NHTCU, said: 'Over the past year, the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit has seen a sustained increase in the professionalism of cybercriminals. Companies are taking the brunt of their attempts to steal money and data, but consumers are also being hit.

'Internet fraud is on the increase and we work with our colleagues in law enforcement across the globe to stamp down on those criminals using other people's identities to steal. We are particularly grateful for the assistance provided by our counterparts within the US Secret Service and the FBI for their close cooperation in connection with this investigation.'