A California college student has been arrested for allegedly trying to steal the personal information of about 30,000 people through a false phishing email from eBay.
Ali Shekafroush, 20, a student at Riverside Community College, was arrested on Tuesday, according to anti-virus firm Sophos.
The arrest was the result of a 14-month investigation by the department's high-tech task force,according to Sophos.
Media reports have claimed that Shekafroush sent emails claiming to be from eBay that would then use social engineering tactics to redirect users to another website. That site would then attempt to get users to turn over personal information.
"It's not just online banks who suffer from criminals sending phishing emails designed to fool the public into thinking it's a legitimate communication. PayPal and eBay are among the most popular targets," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Computer users need to become more savvy when it comes to protecting themselves from phishing and other types of attack via email."
