Cyber gang banged up for 30 years

A cyber gang which hijacked computers at branches of Barclays and Santander to steal personal data and fund a luxury shopping spree for Rolex watches and jewellery has been jailed for a total of nearly 30 years.
The ringleader of the gang – which purloined at least £1.25m from the banks – has been banged up for five-and-a-half years, with other members getting sentences ranging from eight years to six months.
Tony Colston-Hayter, a former Acid House promoter who once appeared on the Jonathan Ross Show, led the gang which used a Trojan horse-style device to tap into the computers.
The 14-strong gang also stole credit and bank card details from about one million intercepted letters. Nine other members of the gang were also sentenced at Southwark Crown Court, with a further four due to be sentenced in June for charges ranging from conspiracy to commit fraud to money laundering.
Judge Juliet May QC told Colston-Hayter: “There is no doubt in my mind that you played a key operational role in taking forward and implementing these plans.”
The court heard his life started to go wrong after he began abusing Class A drugs. Judge May told him: “I gather you’ve taken just about every kind of mind altering substance over the years.”
The gang used a device known as a keyboard video mouse to switch access and control Barclays and Santander bank accounts remotely. The device was used to make 128 transfers worth about £1.25m to accounts set up to launder the stolen cash.
They also stole about 500 bank and credit cards using a sophisticated device which “spoofed” genuine bank numbers. They then phoned customers and tricked them into handing over their personal details and pin numbers.
The Metropolitan Police swooped on the gang in September last year, arresting 11 men in Hounslow and another in Victoria, while searches were carried out in Westminster, Hounslow, Hillingdon, Brent, Richmond and Slough, where property was seized.

Cyber gang banged up for 30 years

1 Comment on "Cyber gang banged up for 30 years"

1 Trackbacks & Pingbacks