Security threats Toolkit

Man charged with iPod email hoax

Jo Best silicon.com

Published: 09 Dec 2003 17:00 GMT

Cambridgeshire Police have confirmed they have made an arrest in connection with the denial of service attack that hit the force last week.

The suspect is a 21-year-old man from the town of St Neots in Cambridgeshire. The man has been bailed and is expected to appear in court to answer the charges in March next year.

The denial of service attack saw the Cambridgeshire police switchboard flooded with calls last week, after a hoax email told recipients their credit cards had been charged £399.95 for an iPod player and encouraged users to call a 'customer service' number -- really the constabulary's main switchboard -- if they haven't ordered the goods.

The email in question is still finding its way into inboxes today. Deputy Chief Constable Alan Given warned in a statement that recipients should ignore the email and only talk to the police if you really have been charged.

"If you have received such an email we would advise you to ignore it and not ring the number of customer services that is listed. However, you should monitor your bank statement and if a similar amount is taken from it, contact your local force as soon as possible," he said.