The National Crime Agency published this month the arrest of 14 individuals on suspicion of money laundering in respect of international cyber criminals. It is alleged that the suspects laundered more than £11 million using the Dridex and Dyre streams of malicious software known as malware. The operation, led by the NCA involved 160 officers with 13 search warrants being executed.

Dridex is a malware that uses macros in Microsoft Office to infect computer systems. The computer is infected by a malicious spam email with a Microsoft Word document attached. If the document is opened the malware is then downloaded. Once a computer has been infected with the macros, access can be gained to financial records resulting in banking credentials and other personal information being stolen which can result in fraudulent banking transactions. Dyre malware intercepts banking and personal information when it is sent between the web browser and the website that the user is accessing.

In June of this year Action Fraud, National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre reported that over £1billion is lost by businesses due to cyber crime. On the 3rd May 2015 amendments were made to the Computer Misuse Act 1990 as introduced by Part 2 of the Serious Crime Act 2015. The amendment created a new offence of unauthorised acts causing, or creating risk of, serious. Where the unauthorised act results in serious damage to human welfare or to national security, the maximum sentence is life imprisonment.

Our internet crime defence solicitors can assist those being investigated for any e-crime offence, from Computer Misuse Act offences, Fraud Act offences, Money Laundering to allegations of breach of copyright and ‘cloning’ investigations.

At Farleys we have a specialist team who can provide advice and representation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on all areas of cyber crime. If you have been accused of involvement in online crime in any capacity, it is vital that you speak to a cyber crime defence solicitor at the earliest opportunity. Early advice is often crucial. To obtain expert advice from a criminal defence solicitor, call our 24 hour advice line on 01254 606050 or complete our online contact form.