Authorities arrest dozens in US, Egypt for alleged ‘phishing’ identity theft scheme

Dozens arrested in US, Egypt in ID theft scheme

LOS ANGELES — U.S. and Egyptian authorities are arresting dozens of people to crack an identity theft ring that victimized thousands.

Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles, says agents are making arrests Wednesday morning in Southern California, Nevada and North Carolina. She says about 100 arrests are expected in the United States and Egypt, many in the Los Angeles area.

An indictment accuses the ring of running a “phishing” scheme, using computer intrusion and fraud to obtain personal information allowing them to withdraw money from bank accounts.

In “phishing,” people answering an e-mail are directed to a bogus Web site and asked to update information such as passwords and account numbers.

Eimiller says victims may have lost a combined couple million dollars.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The FBI is arresting dozens of people in the United States and overseas to crack an identity theft ring that victimized thousands of people.

Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles, says agents are making arrests Wednesday morning in Southern California, Nevada, North Carolina and overseas.

She says about 100 arrests are expected, many in the Los Angeles area.

Eimiller says an indictment accuses the suspects of running a “phishing” scheme. They allegedly used computer intrusion and fraud to obtain personal information that allowed them to withdraw money from bank accounts.

In “phishing,” people answering an e-mail are directed to a bogus Web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and account numbers.