Big crack down on Internet fraud gang

SAO PAULO, Brazil: Brazil made one of its biggest busts against Internet crime, arresting the suspected leader of a gang that stole up to $37 million from its victims' online bank accounts, police said.

Federal police nabbed Valdir Paulo de Almeida on Wednesday night in Rio de Janeiro. His gang, which included more than 18 people, stole the funds by spreading a virus-like program known as a Trojan horse to thousands of computers via e-mail.

The program would record and then relay its victims' online banking password and log-in information back to the criminals, who could then sign into the accounts and transfer the money out.

Although they mostly worked inside Brazil, police said they also stole money from bank accounts abroad.

"This was surely one of (Brazil's) biggest gangs. They moved between 50 and 100 million reais ($18 million and $37 million) over the last two years," said Eduardo Cidreira, head of the police department in charge of Internet fraud in Brazil's southern state of Santa Catarina.

"They sent 3 million e-mails with Trojan horses per day," he added.

The arrest is part of a crackdown on Internet crime in Brazil, which security experts say is home to a growing group of hackers who spread computer viruses and steal money from unsuspecting Web surfers.

"The Federal Police is trying to train people in this area so that we contain the expansion of this type of crime," Cidreira said.

In February, Brazilian police arrested four members of an Internet crime gang accused of stealing more than 10 million reais ($3.6 million) from 200 victims in Brazil.