Man arrested over £7.5m international cyber fraud
PA MediaA man has been arrested as part of a probe into a £7.5m international fraud involving a fake authentication tool used to steal passwords.
The 24-year-old is being questioned in Middlesbrough in connection with offences including blackmail and money laundering.
Cleveland Police said it had been working for three years on "one of the biggest investigations into computer misuse and fraud" it had ever been involved in.
The force said the Joker OTP (one time password) bot platform was believed to have been used more than 28,000 times, across 13 countries, over the last two years.
Police in The Netherlands have also arrested a 30-year-old man as part of the investigation, which has been led by Cleveland Police's Cyber Crime Unit.
It involves a tool that is alleged to have been designed to convince victims to provide authentication codes and other personal information, which could be used to execute fraudulent bank transactions, the force said.
Det Sgt Kevin Carter said: "The team has been working closely with various law enforcement agencies to establish what activity has taken place, the number of victims believed to have been affected, and the identity of the individuals suspected of being involved.
"Users of the Joker OTP bot platform can rest assured that law enforcement has been watching and will be in touch."