Virus stealing online bank details

A new computer virus is targeting bank details.

10:05 16 August 2004

A new email virus has been detected that steals online banking details from UK internet users.

The National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) is warning that a number of people around the UK have reported receiving the email in the last few days.

The email tells the recipient they have made an order for computing goods or web-hosting facilities, and sends them a web link to sites in North America and China, which claim to hold further details about the transaction.

Recipients who then visit the site on an unprotected PC are attacked by malicious Trojan code, which buries itself in the computer.

Fraudsters are then able to access secret passwords and PINs the next time a person logs into their online banking accounts allowing funds to be stolen, a NHTCU spokeswoman told Computing.

Detective chief superintendent Len Hynds, head of the NHTCU, said: "The criminals behind these attacks are constantly evolving their techniques and changing tactics to target a wider range of victims."

He continued by saying the system is "the Swiss Army knife of the cyber-criminal".

The director of corporate communications at APACS, Sandra Quinn, urges users to delete all unsolicited emails and warns against clicking on unknown links.

"By being wary of unsolicited emails and maintaining basic security measures on your computer you can go online with confidence," she said.