US tackles Indian share-hack scam

The growth of the internet has made online fraud more common

Three Indians have been accused of hacking into US stock brokerage accounts so that they could boost the value of their shares.

The US Justice Department has charged the men with securities fraud, computer fraud and identity theft over their alleged role in a million-dollar scam.

The three are Jaisankar Marimuthu, 32, Thirugnanam Ramanathan, 34, and Chockalingam Ramanathan, 33.

Two of the three have been arrested, while the third is still being sought.

It is the first time that suspected hackers involved in an alleged share-trading scam have been arrested abroad, the Justice Department said.

"Today's case demonstrates our commitment to aggressively investigate and prosecute these schemes wherever they originate," said Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher.

"These new forms of high-tech identity and securities fraud pose serious risks to investors and brokerage firms across the globe."

'Pump and dump'

According to reports, Mr Marimuthu and Thirugnanam Ramanathan were arrested in Hong Kong, and Chockalingam Ramanathan is still being sought.

Mr Marimuthu and Chockalingam Ramanathan are both residents of Chennai, India. Thirugnanam Ramanathan is an Indian who lives in Malaysia.

US authorities allege that the three men operated mainly from Thailand and India, and bought stocks through the US brokerage firms under their own names.

They then used stolen identity details to pose as other online stock traders and bought the shares at inflated prices, pushing up the value of their holdings.

The men focused on thinly-traded stocks that allowed them to boost prices more easily and with fewer trades in what the authorities called a "hack, pump and dump" scheme.

One brokerage lost more than $2m (£1.04m), and the plot affected about 60 brokerage clients and nine firms including Ameritrade, E-Trade, Firstrade, Choicetrade, Tradeking, Terranova and OptionsXpress, the Justice Department claimed.

The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed civil charges against the men and claims that they made profits of more than $121,500.

According to the SEC's court papers, one victim of the scam returned from a five-day trip to find their brokerage account had gone from $180,000 in credit to more than $200,000 in losses.