By Josephine McKenna
Rome: Italian police have arrested an Australian man wanted by US investigators for his alleged involvement in an international computer scam which defrauded the elderly and other vulnerable victims of up to $US31 million ($46 million).
The 44-year-old man, who has not yet been named and only identified by police as “an Italo-Australian”, had been wanted by police for more than three years.
The Australian was arrested after an investigation by the FBI, whose agents are pictured in a file photo.Credit: AP Photo
He was arrested by border police at Malpensa Airport in Milan after he landed on a flight from Singapore on Friday.
“The charges relate to a scam, dating back some time, that affected a large number of people, especially the elderly and the particularly frail,” Italian police said in a statement.
Interpol alerted airport police on the suspect’s movements and his potential transit through Italy.
Border police acted on an arrest warrant issued by the North Carolina District Court following a lengthy investigation into the online scam by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and experts from Italy’s cyber police at the Italian Embassy in Washington D.C. He was arrested as soon as he disembarked from his international flight.
“As well as identifying the perpetrators of the serious cyber fraud conducted on a global scale, the FBI investigation also quantified by as much as $US31 million, the illicit profits made from the activities of the cybercriminal organisation to which he belonged,” police said.
According to Italian police, the criminal gang managed to penetrate the security system of unsuspecting victims. An error message would appear on the victims’ computer screen informing them that their device had been compromised, and they were then urged to contact a particular call centre for technical assistance.
“The victim was invited to make a payment for technical assistance, without obtaining any result,” police said.
It is unclear how many victims were targeted by the scam or in which countries they resided, apart from the United States.
At the time of his arrest at Malpensa, the Australian was carrying several thousand euros in cash, several computers, credit cards and two watches of significant value, police said.
He was transferred to Busto Arsizio prison, 35 kilometres north of Milan, and is expected to appear before a magistrate within 48 hours before a formal request is made for his extradition to the US to face charges of computer fraud, damaging computer security and money laundering.
Under US law, the man could face up 30 years in prison if found guilty of defrauding more than 10 victims over the age of 55.
In July, Italian police arrested another alleged cybercriminal wanted by the FBI as part of ongoing cooperation between Italy and the US.
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