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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Fraudsters' website shut in swoop | Fraudsters' website shut in swoop |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A website used by criminals to buy and sell credit card details and bank log-ins has been shut down after a police operation, the BBC has learned. | A website used by criminals to buy and sell credit card details and bank log-ins has been shut down after a police operation, the BBC has learned. |
| International forum Darkmarket ran for three years and led to fraud totalling millions of pounds. | International forum Darkmarket ran for three years and led to fraud totalling millions of pounds. |
| Nearly 60 people connected with the site have been arrested in cities including London and Manchester as well as in Germany, Turkey and the US. | |
| The FBI spent two years gathering evidence after infiltrating the site. | |
| The Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), which has been leading the UK investigation, said it was "a one-stop shop" for criminals. | |
| The arrests were made after computer experts, including some former hackers, followed electronic trails left by site users. | |
| A total of 11 people were arrested in the UK. As well as London and Manchester, raids took place in Leicester, Humberside and South Yorkshire. | |
| Corporate cards | Corporate cards |
| Darkmarket was strictly invitation-only and gave criminals access to a wide range of valuable personal information. | |
| The data held on the magnetic strip of an ordinary credit card was available to buy for as little as one pound. | The data held on the magnetic strip of an ordinary credit card was available to buy for as little as one pound. |
| Most prized were corporate credit cards belonging to frequent business travellers. These aren't geeks. These are serious and organised criminals Sharon Lemon,Serious Organised Crime Agency Police stalking cyber fraudsters | |
| Soca deputy director Sharon Lemon said these were highly sought after because they could be used by criminals all over the world to spend large sums without arousing suspicion. | |
| "Darkmarket is a one-stop shop for the online criminal," she said. | "Darkmarket is a one-stop shop for the online criminal," she said. |
| "You can go to the forum and engage in criminal activity quite freely. You can buy any product you want, you can sell any product you want." | "You can go to the forum and engage in criminal activity quite freely. You can buy any product you want, you can sell any product you want." |
| She stressed that online fraud of this kind was not a "victimless crime" and involved criminals of all levels of sophistication. | She stressed that online fraud of this kind was not a "victimless crime" and involved criminals of all levels of sophistication. |
| "They are taking someone else's money," she said. | "They are taking someone else's money," she said. |
| "These aren't geeks we're talking about. These are serious and organised criminals. | "These aren't geeks we're talking about. These are serious and organised criminals. |
| "And they can vary. You can be the beginner who can go onto the site, get a tutorial and start your life of crime. | "And they can vary. You can be the beginner who can go onto the site, get a tutorial and start your life of crime. |
| "Or you can get people who are fed up. [They think] Actually, Class A drugs are a bit hands-on, why do that when I can make hundreds of thousands online?" | "Or you can get people who are fed up. [They think] Actually, Class A drugs are a bit hands-on, why do that when I can make hundreds of thousands online?" |
| She said there were 2,000 users registered on Darkmarket, but many of those were not unique because one individual could go by a number of online aliases. | She said there were 2,000 users registered on Darkmarket, but many of those were not unique because one individual could go by a number of online aliases. |
| 'Invitation only' | |
| Underground forums, such as this one, where hi-tech criminals buy and sell valuable data such as credit card numbers and bank logins can be hard places to find and infiltrate. | |
| While many can be found just be searching on the internet, the publicly-accessible ones tend to be full of conmen looking for victims or people to carry out crimes on their behalf. | |
| BBC News website technology reporter Mark Ward said: "The most serious underground markets operate on an invitation-only basis. | |
| "Getting invited involves building up and maintaining a reputation as an honest criminal on other public places." | |
| He said the information the police and FBI would gather as a result of the raid on Darkmarket would probably lead them to many more underground forums. | |
| The FBI infiltrated Darkmarket in a similar way to a previous sting, known as Operation Firewall, that was carried out against a group known as the ShadowCrew. | |
| It was able to access the group when an administrator who looked after the ShadowCrew's forums was arrested on an unrelated crime. | |
| Following a series of raids, the FBI initially arrested 28 members of the group. Further investigation led to more arrests around the world, including some in the UK. | |
| Mrs Lemon told the BBC that one individual had spent £250,000 on personal data in just six weeks. | |
| "Had he realised the full potential of the information he had, he could have obtained up to £10m," she said. |