£350,000 internet ID theft gang get 15 years

Six men have been jailed for a total of 15-and-a-half years for their part in a £350,000 internet ID theft ring that laundered money to live the high life, buying Porsches, houses and jewellery.

The men used sophisticated techniques to obtain false identities over the internet, which were then used to open bank accounts and take out loans. The gang then used the internet to transfer funds through various businesses to launder the money. In total £315,000 was taken from LloydsTSB and £30,000 from the Halifax and Cooperative banks.

The case represents the biggest conviction for the UK's cybercrime police, The National Hi-Tech Crime unit (NHTCU), which was alerted to the scam by LloydsTSB.

Detective Chief Superintendent Len Hynds, head of the NHTCU, said in a statement: "Identity theft is a growing problem, particularly over the internet, and this case underlines the need for people to do everything they can to protect that most precious commodity - their identity," he said. "This case highlights the complex sophistication and organised lengths that criminals will go to."

Ibrahim Sanyaolu, 24, from Chadwell Heath, Essex was jailed for four and a half years, Martin Badejoko, 30, from Chadwell Heath, Essex was jailed for three years, George O'Neill, 39, from Enfield in Middlesex was jailed for two and a half years, Mark Obeisan, 28, London was jailed for two years, Huseyin Ekinci, 21, London was jailed for two years and Toluwalaise Ajike, 29 of no fixed abode was jailed for 18 months.

The use of the internet and email to perpetrate ID theft has become an increasing concern for police and financial institutions in recent months, following a spate of 'phishing' scams that tried to trick people into entering bank account and credit card details into a spoof website of a legitimate firm such as Barclays, Halifax, LloydsTSB, and eBay. This was followed last week by a new variant of the Mimail worm that carried the PayPal phishing scam as its payload.