A 16 year old on the Wirral has been as part of a joint investigation with the FBI
ON Friday, 26 June 2015, a 16 year old,
living, in Bidston, on the Wirral, UK, was arrested, at 7am, by detectives from
'Titan', as part of a joint investigation with the FBI.
Titan officers, supported by colleagues from Merseyside Police's Wirral
Division, executed a warrant under Section 8 of the Police and Criminal Evidence
Act and carried out a comprehensive search of the property. A number of
computers and mobile phones were seized and will be thoroughly examined as part
of the joint investigation.
The 16 year old was arrested on suspicion of several offences which officers in
Titan and the FBI believe have been committed using Skype, Twitter, MSN
Messenger and email. These are said to inclide bomb hoaxes and threats made
against schools, media companies, airports and airlines in the United States of
America.
According to the Police:- "As a result of information shared with Titan by
the FBI following a series of incidents in the United States, between 4
September 2014 and 10 April 2015, a large number of bomb hoax communications
were sent by an unknown person to schools and universities in Michigan, as well
as airlines and airports in the US. The threats were largely made on Twitter and
during a period in January several flights had to be grounded and 2 others
escorted by military jets due to threats made on social media. As well as the
bomb hoax allegations, the 16 year old will also be spoken to about a series of
‘swatting' offences committed by an unknown person against Police Departments
and airports in the United States between 29 October 2014 and 26 March 2015."
'Swatting' is a term used to
describe malicious phone calls or other communications to law enforcement
agencies in the US whereby the offender provides false information about a
fictitious threat or incident at a specific location. The common aim is to
provoke an armed tactical response from the Police, who often deploy a SWAT team
or equivalent to the scene when in fact they are not needed.
Head of Operations at Titan, Detective Superintendent Jason Hudson said:-
"This investigation is a prime example of how specialist Police Units here in
the UK can work side by side with law enforcement agencies in other countries,
such as the US, to tackle a new breed of criminality that is not restricted by
any kind of borders. We have acted on intelligence provided by the FBI in
relation to their investigations into a large number of threats committed in the
US and developed that information to the point where today's arrest has been
proportionate and necessary. We are still in the early stages of this
investigation and there is still much work to be done. There is a young man who
needs to be interviewed by my specialist officers who will be mindful of his age
but also the seriousness of the allegations. We have also recovered some
computer equipment and mobile phones which we will analyse for evidential
purposes and our findings will of course be shared with our partners in the FBI.
Their investigation identified some extremely serious threats to institutions
and companies which had major implications for these organisations, the
individuals who work for them and the wider public. We are committed to working
with the FBI and other agencies throughout the world to pool our resources and
share the information we have in order to tackle the wealth of cybercrime that
is now posing such a risk to the public who we have a duty to protect. Cyber
crime can be committed by anyone, anywhere in the world but each offence has a
victim and there are serious repercussions for anyone caught being involved in
these types of offences. They are not a harmless prank and people need to
realise that their behaviour online does not exist in a bubble and has an effect
and consequences in the real world. As Titan and other cyber crime units in the
UK continue to build our capability, technology and skills to tackle this new
threat, we need people and businesses to better protect themselves from online
crime by understanding the risks, implementing strong security measures so that
they can enjoy the opportunities the Internet now provides us all but without
making themselves vulnerable to cyber criminals."
Following the arrest, specialist Titan detectives, from the North West Regional
Cybercrime Unit (RCCU) interviewed him about the alleged offences.
Detectives from Titan later in the day confirmed that the 16 year old had then been bailed, pending further enquiries having been questioned.
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