Even if you have not fallen victim to a phishing scam yourself, it is good to know that the FBI is taken the threat seriously. Last Wednesday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation pulled in the net on the largest cyber fraud phishing case to date, aptly named “Operation Phish Phry“.  The FBI case started back in 2007 and resulted in a multinational sting with almost 100 people being charged.

“The FBI said it uncovered a sophisticated phishing operation that was designed to swipe personal information and then use the data to defraud banks. On Wednesday, authorities arrested 33 of the 53 defendants named in an indictment. Egyptian authorities charged another 47 alleged cybercrooks.”

Each of the defendants indicted in the US, is charged with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, with a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Hopefully this case will result in convictions with stiff sentences, sending a strong signal to other aspiring cyber crooks.