36 web sites bustedBy Dave NealThu Apr 26 2012, 12:41THE UK Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) has shut down 36 web sites that it said were trading in stolen credit card information.SOCA said that the web sites were used to sell compromised bank card data and have been felled thanks to cooperation from its partners the FBI, the US Department of Justice and a range of law enforcement agencies from countries as far away as Australia and Romania.These were apparently sophisticated operations, and SOCA said that online trading platforms were used to sell bulk details. Not anymore though, as following yesterday's crackdown visitors to the web pages will be presented with "this domain has been seized" notices, which are becoming increasingly common.The recovered data has been passed to the financial organisations that deserve the grey hairs over this, and SOCA estimates that its actions have saved as much as half a billion quid in potential fraud."This operation is an excellent example of the level of international cooperation being focused on tackling online fraud," said Lee Miles, head of Cyber Operations for SOCA."Our activities have saved business, online retailers and financial institutions potential fraud losses estimated at more than half a billion pounds, and at the same time protected thousands of individuals from the distress caused by being a victim of fraud or identity crime."Computers and other equipment have been seized, and three men have been arrested in the global police swoop. µ
