An FBI raid on a data center Tuesday is connected to an investigation into Latvians who allegedly put malware in Internet advertisements that would barrage the computers of victims with notifications to purchase bogus antivirus software, The New York Times reported.
FBI agents early Tuesday morning raided a hosting facility in Reston, Va., used by Switzerland-based company DigitalOne, knocking down some websites. On Thursday, the Justice Department announced the indictments of individuals from Latvia and the confiscation of more than 40 computers and servers as part an ongoing investigation into international cyber crime.
The DOJ said it disrupted two Latvian criminal groups that allegedly sent out “scareware,” which aims to trick victims into supplying their credit card information to scammers.
One group is accused of running websites that displayed fake virus scans and other scams. The group earned more than $72 million from the sale of fake antivirus software and infected hundreds of thousands of computers, according to the DOJ.
The other group allegedly sent out their malware using ads it purchased for the website of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The ads functioned properly at first, but they later were altered to allow the distribution of the malicious software, according to the DOJ. At least $2 million was lost from the scam, the Department said.
“Cybercrime is profitable, and can prey upon American consumers and companies from nearly any corner of the globe,” Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the DOJ Criminal Division said in a statement. “We will continue to be aggressive and innovative in our approach to combating this international threat.”
