FBI Issues $3Mln Reward for Alleged Russian Hacker Bogachev

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The FBI has put out a $3 million dollar award for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev, the alleged Russian mastermind behind malicious software that has defrauded victims of more than $100 million.

“Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev… is wanted for his alleged involvement in a wide-ranging racketeering enterprise and scheme that installed, without authorization, malicious software known as ‘Zeus’ on victims’ computers,” the FBI said, announcing a "$3 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev."

According to the FBI, Bogachev led a group of hackers in a scheme to distribute spam and phishing e-mails which contained links to malicious web sites. The computers of people who clicked on the websites were then infected, giving the hackers access to bank accounts and other information. The malicious software infected at least one million computers and led to more than $100 million in stolen assets, the FBI said.

“The software was used to capture bank account numbers, passwords, personal identification numbers, and other information necessary to log into online banking accounts,” according to the FBI.

Bogachev was indicted in 2012 by a Nebraska court on charges of Conspiracy to Participate in Racketeering Activity; Bank Fraud, Conspiracy to Violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; Conspiracy to Violate the Identity Theft and Assumption of Deterrence Act; and Aggravated Identity Theft. In 2014, Bogachev was indicted by a Pennsylvania court on charges of Conspiracy; Computer Fraud; Wire Fraud; Bank Fraud; and Money Laundering.