Good news here in the fight against phishing - the Bulgarian National Services to Combat Organized Crime (NSCOC) agency has arrested a ring of eight individuals who it is alleged ran an international phishing operation. The "MBAM Gang" (Microsoft Billing Account Management), spoofed emails to make them appear as if they were sent by MSN staff. They also created and used fake internet web pages that copied the design, logo and trademark of official MSN pages, and used stolen financial data to receive express money transfers for more than $50,000. That's before they were caught, that is.
Microsoft said it referred the matter and evidence of the attacks for further investigation to Bulgarian authorities. Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's associate general counsel for Microsoft Europe, said: "This is an important step forward in the combat against those who prey on internet users. Microsoft believes vigorous criminal enforcement against phishers is essential to show cyber-criminals that there are consequences to their illegal actions, and we are pleased to collaborate with law enforcement agencies around the world in this effort."