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iFraud: 10 arrested in online music fraud
The Metropolitan police have confirmed they have made 10 arrests as part of an international fraud which involved the FBI, the Met’s e-crime unit and officers from the West Midlands police.
10 people are being held for conspiracy to defraud and money laundering, after they were caught downloading their own songs using stolen credit cards.
The gang is believed to have produced its own music tracks, which were then sold to a distributor who sold them via Apple’s iTunes store and Amazon’s similar music download service. The gang then bought their own music using up to 1,500 stolen UK and US credit cards. As well as the credit card fraud, the gang has been charged with money laundering offences as they were then paid $300,000 in royalties from purchasing the tunes – effectively using the music download sites to launder stolen cash.
The online fraud is believed to have begun in August 2008, and has involved international liaison between the FBI and the Metropolitan’s 12 month old e-crime unit. The arrests are a significant success for the unit, which was set up to provide online expertise in such cases. Over 60 officers were involved in arresting the seven men and three women, who were caught in London Kent, Wolverhampton and Birmingham.
Detective Chief Inspector Terry Wilson, of the e-crime unit, commented on the success:
"We are now making it more risky for criminals who seek to exploit the internet and commit e-crime across national borders. We are working hard through partnership with industry and law enforcement to combat e-crime and are committed to pursuing those responsible."
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