Two suspected computer hackers have been arrested in Manchester in a major inquiry into a global internet scam designed to steal personal details.

The trojan program is believed to have infected thousands of computers around the world, said the Metropolitan Police, which is leading the inquiry.

The investigation focused on the ZeuS or Zbot trojan – “a sophisticated malicious computer program”, said police.

The malicious software records online bank account details, passwords and credit card numbers to steal cash with the information accessed.

It also copies passwords for social networking sites before causing each computer to forward the data to servers under the control of the hackers.

Source: BBC News