E-crime police arrest man over suspected HMRC fraud

Tom Young, Computing, Friday 4 September 2009 at 10:11:00

Joint investigation by Police Central e-Crime Unit and HM Revenue and Customs
led to arrest

A 32-year-old man has been arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police
as part of a joint investigation with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) into a
suspected �1m fraud.

The investigation began in June after HMRC detected an electronic attack on
its system and it was reported to officers from the
Police Central e-Crime
Unit (PCeU) ? a new team set up to co-ordinate police response to e-crime.

The investigation by the two organisations is looking into a criminal network
believed to be stealing money from HMRC through fraudulent claims via the
self-assessment tax repayments system.

Detective Chief Inspector Terry Wilson, from the PCeU, said the police
operation had been complex.

"It shows how such e-crime attacks and frauds are being identified and taken
very seriously by both organisations," he said.

"The issue of e-crime is a growing problem across all business sectors and
online services but working with our partners in government and industry we are
committed to ensuring that criminals do not find the internet a safe environment
to operate in and that those operating internet services have the full
protection of law enforcement."

The man was arrested from his home in Poplar, East London in the early hours
of this morning on suspicion of fraud and money laundering. He was taken into
custody at Bethnal Green police station.

Full story at http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2248930/man-suspected-online-tax-fraud