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Hunt for "sleeper bugs"

Paris: Russian thieves have stolen more than euro 1 million from personal bank accounts in France using ``sleeper bugs'' to infect computers. French authorities claim the thieves can take control of and empty a bank account in seconds. In one hit, a bank customer lost euro 40,000. Police say the virus is embedded in E-mails or Web sites and remains dormant until the user contacts their bank online. When that happens, the bug becomes active and records passwords and bank codes which are then forwarded to the thieves. They then use the information to check the victim has money in the bank before transferring funds to the accounts of third parties, who may have agreed to allow money to pass through their accounts in return for a commission of between 5 per cent and 10 per cent.

— © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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