'Phishing' raids in US and Egypt

Cairo, 08 Oct-(ANA)-A number of people have been arrested in the US and in Egypt, accused of links to an alleged international identity theft ring targeting American banks.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said about 100 arrests were expected across the US states of California, Nevada and North Carolina as well as in Egypt.

The alleged ring is accused of using an internet "phishing" scheme to get data allowing it to access bank accounts.

Victims may together have lost about $2m (£1.3m), Ms Eimiller said.

The investigation has led to the indictment of the largest number of defendants ever charged in a cyber crime case, according to the FBI in Los Angeles.

The ring used a sophisticated phishing scheme - where people are lured into revealing their details on fake websites - to obtain personal information from thousands of people and defraud American banks, the FBI statement said. (ANA)

FA/ANA/08 October 2009----