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Europa Press
Madrid
Monday, 19 August 2024, 16:37
The 38-year-old leader of an international cybercrime network, which committed scams worth an estimated 31 million euros each year, has been arrested in Estepona on Spain's Costa del Sol.
A police investigation involving authorities from around the world led to the arrest of the alleged criminal who spearheaded the gang that had members in many countries, according to the Guardia Civil.
The gang specialised mainly in ransomware, a type of computer attack which blocks users from accessing their personal systems and files and demands payment of a ransom to recover them. These cyber-scammers would also commit a scam known as 'malvertising', which involves manipulating online advertisements in order to infect devices with viruses.
As well as Spain's Guardia Civil, the Seacatch-Weighhouse operation involved authorities from the UK, Ukraine, Portugal, Poland and the US including the FBI. It led to arrests and searches in Spain, Ukraine, Portugal and Germany. The UK also worked with Singapore police to locate the infrastructure used by the so-called Ransom Cartel.
In Spain, a 38-year-old man residing in Estepona was arrested. He is accused of being the creator and administrator of Ransom Cartel, as well as of allegedly creating and distributing well-known ransomware programmes such as CryptXXX or Cryptowall, among others.
His ties to cybercrime have been known since 2013, and is allegedly known as J.P. Morgan, xxx and lansky, police said.
He has also been accused of spreading Angler Exploit Kit, a type of toolkit that cybercriminals have developed in recent years to carry out web-based attacks to distribute malware. It has led to the gang committing millions of scams, according to Guardia Civil sources
One of the most profitable malware tools for the organisation was Reveton, which locks the victim's computer and displays a notification that appears to be from a police force. The organisation was able to swindle about 31 million euros a year.
Police are also investigating a second person, a 28-year-old man who is linked to the creation of the Angler Exploit Kit.
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