POLICE IN LONDON have arrested 12 men who together were in a sophisticated cyber crime plot.

According to the Metropolitan Police Service, the suspects participated in an “audacious attempt to take control of a bank’s computer in order to steal from it”.

The males, who range in age from 23 to 50 years old, are being questioned about a conspiracy to steal from Santander Bank.

Searches have been carried out at a number of addressed across the city andproperty has been seized.

“The arrests are the result of a long-term, intelligence-led, proactive operation by the Police’s Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU),” Scotland Yard said in a statement.

The operation avoided multi-million-pound losses from Santander at Surrey Quays shopping centre, it added.

The offence involved deploying a KVM (keyboard video mouse) device, fitted to a computer within the bank branch, allowing the transmission of the complete desktop contents of the bank computer over the network. In effect, this allowed the suspects to take control of the bank computers remotely.

“This was a sophisticated plot that could have led to the loss of a very large amount of money from the bank, and is the most significant case of this kind that we have come across,” said Detective Inspector Mark Raymond.

As many as 300 people have lost money due to phishing email scams this year

Companies lose 2.7 per cent of their yearly turnover due to cyber crime

EU institutions at odds over ‘Robin Hood Tax’

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More