Computer hackers in Ukraine siphoned $526,613 from a Baton Rouge credit union in September 2009 by making unauthorized wire transfers from a union account at Capital One, according to a lawsuit in federal district court.
The hackers stole that money by sneaking an e-mail attachment with malware — malicious software — past an accountant at the targeted institution, LES Federal Credit Union, the suit adds.
Ukraine is a country in eastern Europe and a former member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
The U.S. Secret Service in Baton Rouge forwarded details of the crime to federal investigators in New York, where felony charges were filed in similar cases against more than 30 alleged criminals from Ukraine and other countries, a federal official said Friday.
The suit was filed Thursday in Baton Rouge against Capital One by Fidelity & Deposit Company of Maryland.
The Maryland firm insured LES, which was founded in 1950 to serve employees of the Louisiana Department of Labor. It has since expanded its services to employees of a number of private companies, as well.
“Capital One does not comment on pending litigation,” Julie Rakes, a spokeswoman for Virginia-based Capital One, said Friday.
LES members did not lose any cash, because each of their accounts was insured for up to $250,000 by the Federal Credit Union Administration.
In addition, more than $200,000 of the stolen funds were recovered before they could be picked up by criminals at wire transfer stations around the globe, Fidelity & Deposit said in its suit.
The insurer, however, reimbursed LES for $321,873 that went to “a den of thieves,” Fidelity & Deposit added.
LES maintained a commercial account at Capital One, according to the suit.
Capital One is alleged by the insurer to have permitted unauthorized wire transfers from that account after an LES accountant opened an e-mail attachment that was purported to contain an IRS query about LES’ taxes. The e-mail did not come from the IRS, but it carried malware that allowed the thieves to obtain the credit union’s user identifications and passwords.
The insurer said those mistakes enabled Ukrainian criminals to siphon money out of the credit union’s account at Capital One.
The hackers stole that money by sneaking an e-mail attachment with malware — malicious software — past an accountant at the targeted institution, LES Federal Credit Union, the suit adds.
Ukraine is a country in eastern Europe and a former member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
The U.S. Secret Service in Baton Rouge forwarded details of the crime to federal investigators in New York, where felony charges were filed in similar cases against more than 30 alleged criminals from Ukraine and other countries, a federal official said Friday.
The suit was filed Thursday in Baton Rouge against Capital One by Fidelity & Deposit Company of Maryland.
The Maryland firm insured LES, which was founded in 1950 to serve employees of the Louisiana Department of Labor. It has since expanded its services to employees of a number of private companies, as well.
“Capital One does not comment on pending litigation,” Julie Rakes, a spokeswoman for Virginia-based Capital One, said Friday.
LES members did not lose any cash, because each of their accounts was insured for up to $250,000 by the Federal Credit Union Administration.
In addition, more than $200,000 of the stolen funds were recovered before they could be picked up by criminals at wire transfer stations around the globe, Fidelity & Deposit said in its suit.
The insurer, however, reimbursed LES for $321,873 that went to “a den of thieves,” Fidelity & Deposit added.
LES maintained a commercial account at Capital One, according to the suit.
Capital One is alleged by the insurer to have permitted unauthorized wire transfers from that account after an LES accountant opened an e-mail attachment that was purported to contain an IRS query about LES’ taxes. The e-mail did not come from the IRS, but it carried malware that allowed the thieves to obtain the credit union’s user identifications and passwords.
The insurer said those mistakes enabled Ukrainian criminals to siphon money out of the credit union’s account at Capital One.
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