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While you are reading this, someone could be rummaging through your computer's hard drive, silently opening folders, looking at your photographs and documents, browsing your internet history and reading your emails.
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Re: Nigerian Identity Theft: How Sky's Undercover Reporter Infiltrated The Cybercrime
While you are reading this, someone could be rummaging through your computer's hard drive, silently opening folders, looking at your photographs and documents, browsing your internet history and reading your emails.
They will also be recording every keystroke, waiting for your online banking password.
Then they will leave and you will never know they were there.
If you know where to look, you can find your details for sale online.
If you are quick, you could buy them back - but if you are too late, thousands of pounds could be stolen from your account.
Identity theft costs the UK £1.7bn every year. As our lives become digital, so do our identities and this makes them easy to steal.
It is cybercrime on a massive scale, organised by an international network of hackers, fraudsters and thieves.
But who are they and how do they operate? To find out I needed to infiltrate the online market.
Goldspy.org was my target - a virtual world where personal identities are bought, sold, swapped and stolen.
Your credit card number, bank details, passwords, your mother's maiden name, home address, telephone number, PIN, date of birth, sort code, salary and private emails. They are all there for £2 each.
It is a global market. The hackers are from Russia and they sell bank details stolen from your PC.
The identity thieves are Nigerian and they buy your identity from hackers to purchase goods online.
The goods are delivered to 'drops' in the UK (online stores will not deliver direct to Nigeria). The drops sell the goods and wire half the cash back to Nigeria.
After waiting 30 days for my profile to be approved, I have access to Goldspy. I pose as a talented hacker with bank passwords to trade.
I am approached by 'Henry', from Nigeria. We spend a few weeks chatting online and on the phone until the early hours. We discuss hacking, scamming and spamming. I record the calls.
Henry reveals his 'cash drop' lives in Liverpool. He spent months grooming her online for money laundering.
He transfers stolen funds into her account, she withdraws the cash and sends it to him in Nigeria. Her fee is 10%. I persuade him to give me her number and I call her.
Her name is Jeanette and I tell her I need a drop to receive stolen laptops. I also say I have lovely brown eyes, that I live moments from her in Liverpool and that I adore Lionel Richie as much as she does.
It works a treat and she asks me out for a drink.
We meet in Liverpool on Saturday night. It is a blind date and I am nervous but we get on great.
We talk about music, each other and football. She is a big Liverpool fan and I play along as best I can. Once we are chatting like old friends I switch on my hidden-camera and ask her about Henry.
Jeanette says she has laundered a total of £10,000 for him. She is not concerned about the victims and she never wires money to Nigeria by phone, to avoid leaving a trail.
I ask, what about the person who has lost the money, would they not alert the bank?
"People don't read their statements. £500 you wouldn't notice it's gone missing. Take small amounts and they won't notice it."
What about the bank, I ask. Don't they get suspicious?
"They did when he tried to put in £28,000," she replies. "But I just played stupid and pretended I didn't know where the money had come from."
I am amazed how candid she is. She is revealing her involvement in an international money laundering operation and how she avoids being caught.
I am excited because I have one half of my story. We kiss goodnight and she asks to see me again. I feel a twinge of guilt but assure her we will meet again soon.
I chat to Henry. He is keen to purchase Barclay's log-in details from me and suggests we use Jeanette as the cash drop. I play for time.
How can I secretly film him?
I suggest coming to Nigeria to discuss a big deal but he becomes suspicious. I suggest he comes to London and he accuses me of being an undercover police officer.
To change the subject I talk about women, an international language for most males. He tells me he is looking for an English bride. I seize my chance and tell him I know just the person.
I arrange for a female Sky News producer to call him. 'Julie' tells him she is looking for a Nigerian husband. Could he go on webcam so she can check him out?
A few minutes later Henry appears online and waves to 'Julie'. I use screen capture software to record him. We have a face to put to the person online.
Jeanette is upset when I reveal who I really am. I cannot tell if it is because I will never be her boyfriend or because she has been caught.
When I confront Henry, he denies everything.
We hand our dossier to UK and Nigerian police. They reveal Henry is a big fish in the cybercrime underworld. With any luck, our evidence will reel him in.
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