FILE - In this Thursday, July 19, 2012 file photo, a damaged bus is transported out of Burgas airport, Bulgaria, a day after a deadly suicide attack on a bus full of Israeli vacationers. Lebanon’s prime minister has expressed his readiness to cooperate with Bulgarian authorities over a bomb attack linked to Hezbollah that killed five Israelis and their Bulgarian driver, in a statement Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. Prime Minister Najib Mikati whose Cabinet is dominated by members of the Shiite Muslim group and its allies also says he condemns and rejects any attack that targets an Arab or foreign country.(AP Photo/ Impact Press Group, File)
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FILE - In this Thursday, July 19, 2012 file photo, a damaged bus is transported out of Burgas airport, Bulgaria, a day after a deadly suicide attack on a bus full of Israeli vacationers. Lebanon’s prime minister has expressed his readiness to cooperate with Bulgarian authorities over a bomb attack linked to Hezbollah that killed five Israelis and their Bulgarian driver, in a statement Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. Prime Minister Najib Mikati whose Cabinet is dominated by members of the Shiite Muslim group and its allies also says he condemns and rejects any attack that targets an Arab or foreign country.(AP Photo/ Impact Press Group, File)
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FILE - In this Friday, July 20, 2012 file photo, family and friends attend the funeral of Itzik Kolengi, 28, who was killed and his wife injured in a suicide bombing in Bulgaria Wednesday in Petah Tikva, Israel. Lebanon’s prime minister has expressed his readiness to cooperate with Bulgarian authorities over a bomb attack linked to Hezbollah that killed five Israelis and their Bulgarian driver, in a statement Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. Prime Minister Najib Mikati whose Cabinet is dominated by members of the Shiite Muslim group and its allies also says he condemns and rejects any attack that targets an Arab or foreign country.(AP Photo/Dan Balilty, File)
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Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, right, speaks during briefing, as Bulgarian President Plevneliev, left, talks to Bulgarian Prime Minister Borissov, after Consultative Council meeting on National Security at the Bulgarian President's office in Sofia, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. Bulgarian officials say a Canadian and an Australian are suspects in a deadly bomb attack they say is linked to Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah. Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsevtnov says two of the suspects in the attack that killed five Israeli tourists last July had entered the country with an Australian and a Canadian passport. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
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Bulgarian President Rossen Plevneliev speaks during briefing after Consultative Council meeting on National Security at the Bulgarian President's office in Sofia, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. Bulgarian officials say a Canadian and an Australian are suspects in a deadly bomb attack they say is linked to Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah. Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsevtnov says two of the suspects in the attack that killed five Israeli tourists last July had entered the country with an Australian and a Canadian passport. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
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FILE - In this November 12, 2010 file photo, Hezbollah fighters hold their party flags, as they parade during the opening of new cemetery for colleagues who died in fighting against Israel, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. Lebanon’s prime minister has expressed his readiness to cooperate with Bulgarian authorities over a bomb attack linked to Hezbollah that killed five Israelis and their Bulgarian driver, in a statement Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. Prime Minister Najib Mikati whose Cabinet is dominated by members of the Shiite Muslim group and its allies also says he condemns and rejects any attack that targets an Arab or foreign country.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
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In this picture taken on May 22, 2010, a Hezbollah fighter stands behind an empty rocket launcher while explaining to the group various tactics and weapons used against Israeli soldiers on the battlefield, during a trip to Hezbollah strongholds, in Sojod village, southern Lebanon. Lebanon’s prime minister has expressed his readiness to cooperate with Bulgarian authorities over a bomb attack linked to Hezbollah that killed five Israelis and their Bulgarian driver, in a statement Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. Prime Minister Najib Mikati whose Cabinet is dominated by members of the Shiite Muslim group and its allies also says he condemns and rejects any attack that targets an Arab or foreign country.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, left, and Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, right, enter the Consultative Council meeting on National Security at the Bulgarian President's office in Sofia, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. Investigators are releasing a summary of their findings to the Bulgarian government Tuesday which is widely expected to link the militant group Hezbollah to the bus bomb attack on July 18, 2012, that killed five Israeli tourists in the coastal city of Burgas, Bulgaria. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
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Bulgarian officials attend the Consultative Council meeting on National Security at the Bulgarian President's office in Sofia, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. Investigators are releasing a summary of their findings to the Bulgarian government Tuesday, which is widely expected to link the militant group Hezbollah to the bus bomb attack on July 18, 2012, that killed five Israeli tourists in the coastal city of Burgas, Bulgaria. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Spain busts 'ransomware' cybercrime gang
MADRID (
AP) — Spanish authorities on Wednesday announced the breakup of a cybercrime gang that used a "ransomware" virus to lock computers throughout Europe, display false messages claiming the action was taken by police and demand payment of €100 ($135) to unlock the computers.
The gang, operating from the Mediterranean resort cities of Benalmadena and Torremolinos, made at least €1 million ($1.35 million) annually, said Deputy Interior Minister Francisco Martinez. Their notices to victims were accompanied by false threats claiming they were under investigation for accessing child pornography or illegal file-sharing.
The 27-year-old Russian alleged to be the gang's founder and virus developer was detained in the United Arab Emirates at the request of Spanish police while on vacation and an extradition petition is pending, Martinez said. Six more Russians, two Ukrainians and two Georgians were arrested in Spain last week.
Europol, which coordinates national police forces across Europe and worked with Spanish authorities on the case, said the operation "dismantled the largest and most complex cybercrime network dedicated to spreading police ransomware."
Europol, based in The Hague, Netherlands, added that the gang infected tens of thousands of computers worldwide, and Spanish authorities said people from 30 mostly European nations were affected.
"It's an example of the evolving nature of cybercrime online," Europol director Rob Wainwright said. "It's an example of how cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated in affecting thousands of people around Europe."
The virus displayed the national emblem of the police force in each country it appeared, telling people to buy prepaid electronic money cards to pay the fines online.
Authorities estimate less than 3 percent of those people whose computers were infected paid, but the amounts added up. The gang also stole data and information from victims' computers, and didn't unlock them after the fake fines were paid.
Money was also stolen from the victims' accounts via ATMs in Spain, and the gang made daily international money transfers through currency exchanges and call centers to send the funds stolen to Russia.
Spanish authorities identified more than 1,200 victims but said the actual number could be much higher. The government's Office of Internet Security received 784,000 visits for advice on how to get rid of the virus.
Those arrested face charges of money laundering, participation in a criminal operation and fraud.
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