Scotland Yard launch investigation into cyber attack on Northampton MP
THE CYBER crimes unit at Scotland Yard has launched an investigation after an email account belonging to Northampton North MP, Michael Ellis, was hacked into by foreign fraudsters.
Just after 8.30am yesterday, hundreds of messages were sent from the email address ellis2win@googlemail.com.
The messages, which claimed to have been sent by the MP, said he had been mugged while in Spain and needed money to get home. Anyone who received the message was asked to transfer €1,500 to an account in Barcelona.
Mr Ellis, who was actually working in Westminster when the emails were sent, said his office had gone into meltdown after they were posted, with dozens of people calling to find out what was going on. He said: “I’m very annoyed that this has disturbed so many people. Fortunately, the vast majority realised it’s fake.
“But it’s been extremely disruptive to the work we’re doing here in Parliament. At one point, all my staff were having to deal with the problems it created.
“I think it was a random attack on my email, but it shows that this can happen to anyone.”
The email address was set up during Mr Ellis’s election campaign in 2010 and was printed on his leaflets.
He has insisted it had a “very strong” password and was checked regularly. As well as his email, Mr Ellis’s Twitter account was also broken into.
The problems caused by the hackers meant the MP had to miss a meeting of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, where Sir Richard Branson was questioned about his views about the Government’s drugs policy.
Officers from Northamptonshire Police were last night working with Scotland Yard to trace the email fraudsters.
A spokesman for the force said: “An investigation is under way in relation to an allegation of unauthorised access and use of online accounts. The investigation is being led by senior detectives who are working closely with Mr Ellis’s Parliamentary office.”
Mr Ellis is not the first of the town’s MPs to have his identity stolen. In 2006, Conservative Brian Binley had both his bank account hacked into and his mail re-directed by fraudsters.
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There are 12 comments to this article
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lady muck
Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 09:00 PMPending Moderation
lady muck
Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 07:14 AMPending Moderation
Adams RANT
Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 12:59 AMDear Mr MP Would you please delete my email address from your list, I have enough sh*t in my inbox
Loki
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 09:43 PMA Member of Parliament using a Google email address!... It beggars belief. No business connected to his Parliamentary activities since his election as MP should EVER have been carried out from this email address. I'm sure his constituents and clients are wondering if any of their info has been hacked.
executioners_bong
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 05:13 PM“I think it was a random attack on my email, but it shows that this can happen to anyone.” Well spotted old bean, give yourself a pat on the back. Presumably the Scotland Yard investigation was undertaken by a 15 year old on work-experience time and took about 30 seconds?
Tony Clarke
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 03:40 PMBelow are two other letters used by the same scam operators: How are you doing? Hope all is well with you and family, I know this might be a surprise to you but I am sorry I didn't inform you about my traveling to Scotland for a Seminar. I need a favor from you because I misplaced my wallet on my way to the hotel, my money and other valuables are gone including my credit cards. I will like you to assist me with an urgent loan of 2000 british pounds which is about $3200 U.S dollars to sort-out my hotel bills and get myself back home. This is one favor I will always show gratitude throughout my lifetime. I will appreciate whatever you can afford to help me with and I promise to refund the money as soon as I return home. Please do this for me and I will be grateful. Let me know if you can help me out so I can send you the details for making a transfer through Western Union. Regards, I'm writing this with tears in my eyes,my family and I came down here to (location) for a short vacation. unfortunately,we were mugged at the park of the hotel where we stayed,all cash and credit card were stolen off us but luckily for us we still have our passports with us. We've been to the Embassy and the Police here but they're not helping issues at all and our flight leaves in few hours from now but we're having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let us leave until we settle the bills. Well I really need your financially assistance..Please, let me know if you can help us out? Google mail and aol have done very little to stop this ongoing hacking despite thousands of complaints, but now inspector knacker of the yard is seemingly on the case.
Finker
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 03:11 PMTony, making it about the MP makes people read it. Teddy - people fall for it, that is why they do it. The income from these sort of scams is huge because people do get caught out.
Tony Clarke
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 01:53 PMFinker, the anchor for the story is the MP not the scam. It would be far better for the press to make the general public aware of the widespread nature of this scam and get them to protect their own email accounts more robustly, even MP's! My point is why isn't every such case taken up by Scotland Yard and covered on the front page of the local press? Answer it would be a waste of police resource as we cannot act against anonymous hackers in Nigeria even if we wanted to and also that the number of people already affected by this scam hardly makes it news, just do a search on the net and you will find thousands of cases. Scotland Yard! Cyber attack on Northampton MP! no just another everyday hassle suffered by many people, an an MP who needs to up his security and net knowledge.
TeddyMcnabb
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 10:59 AMFinker, pc users are already "aware" maybe the conellis and echo, can make the public aware of the devastating impact of ellis and co in respect of the Welfare Reform bill, and his unstinting support of legal aid cuts which will further silence and isolate the voice of the vulnerables legitimate complaints. The tories are not hunting foxes [ at the moment anyway] but hunting the vulnerable with a bloodtyhirsty vengeance!
Finker
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 10:32 AMAlthough it does raise awareness of the issue which seems positive and shows it can happen to anyone.
TeddyMcnabb
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 10:31 AMaahh tony but this is the conellis and echo, i remember when he was doing is pre-election promotion he had a great deal of write ups photos etc with his mate about "atcostenergy," his mate took ill after the election and the atcostenergy disappeared, what with the alleged business acumen of the tories there was a no plan b ?
Tony Clarke
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 09:53 AMSorry Chron but this is just not headline news. I personally know of three people who have had this happen to them. It is a standard scam from Nigeria which affects users of heavy platform email providers. Usually aol or google mail. So why haven't Scotland Yard come to the rescue of the thousands of people who have been equally affected? Michael email like other MP's is his initial followed by his surname and the parliament.uk i.e mellis@parliament.uk now if that was hacked then it would be a case for Scotland Yard, as it is it seems as if he is getting special treatment whilst others in the same situation have to get by without the polices support or a front page headline.
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