Russian cybercriminals hit domestic bank customers

Russian cybercriminals used malware planted on Android mobile devices to steal from domestic bank customers and planned to target European banks before they were arrested, according to investigators and sources with knowledge of the case who spoke to Reuters.

They could only raise a relatively small sum by cyber-crime standards - over 50 million roubles ($892,000) - but they also came to possess sophisticated malicious software for a modest monthly fee to strike banks' clients in France and possibly other western nations.

Customers were tricked into downloading malware via fake mobile banking applications, as also via pornography and e-commerce programmes, according to a report compiled by cyber security firm Group-IB, which investigated the attack with the Russian interior ministry.