Police have foiled an “audacious” cyber plot to steal millions of pounds by hijacking a London high street bank’s computers.
Detectives believe a gang was just moments away from downloading account details after its members remotely took control of the system.
The men allegedly fitted a computer at a Santander Bank branch with a “keyboard video mouse” enabling them to transmit its desktop contents. Using the device, the gang could remotely control every computer at the Surrey Quays shopping centre branch in Rotherhithe.
Police say no employee of Santander bank was arrested in the swoop. They are now trying to establish how the gang gained access to the computer.
Officers from Scotland Yard’s Central e-Crime Unit swooped on 12 men as they allegedly prepared to activate the device. Eleven men, aged 23 to 50, were held in Hounslow and a 34-year-old man, who is suspected of fitting the device, was arrested in Victoria.
Those arrested include British nationals, Eastern Europeans and one from an African state. Police say it is the first time an organised gang has used the cyber device in an attempt to commit a bank robbery in the UK.
Officers also searched addresses in Westminster, Hounslow, Hillingdon, Brent, Richmond and Slough. The gang is thought to have set up an office equipped with computers in Hounslow, where they were planning to take remote control of the bank.
Police are working with Santander to establish how much money was at risk but they believe the gang could have escaped with millions of pounds.
Det Insp Mark Raymond, of the unit said: “This was a sophisticated plot that could have led to the loss of a very large amount of money from the bank, and is the most significant case of this kind that we have come across.
“The PCeU is committed to tackling cyber crime and the damage it can cause to individuals, organisations and the wider economy.”
Det Supt Terry Wilson, head of the PCeU, said: “This is the first time we have seen a real fusion between cyber crime and mainstream crime.
“This is only the second time in the UK this method has been used to access a bank and is the first time it has been attempted by a crime network.” He said the arrests followed a “long-term, covert, intelligence-led” operation.
Police do not believe Santander was targeted because of weak security but say all banks are at risk of cyber crime.
Scotland Yard said: “These arrests are led, proactive operation by the PCeU.
Santander said: “Like all high street banks, we work very closely with the police and other authorities to help prevent fraud. Through this cooperation we were aware of the possibility of the attack connected to the arrests.
“The attempt to fit the device to the branch computer was undertaken by a bogus maintenance engineer pretending to be from a third party.
“It failed and no money was ever at risk. No member of Santander staff was involved in this attempted fraud.
“We are pleased that we have been able, through the robustness of our systems, to prevent the fraud and help the police gather the evidence they needed to make the arrests.”
