Suspect Extradited From Estonia to Face Massive Internet Fraud Charges

One of the features of crimes committed over the Internet is that they may be committed from anywhere in the world where a defendant has access a computer. A current case in New York shows that extradition likewise can reach around the globe.

On April 19, 2012, Anton Ivanov was extradited from Estonia to face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and computer intrusion, among other offenses, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ivanov is one of a number of defendants accused of a technologically sophisticated scheme that used malware and other techniques to reroute Internet traffic to websites chosen by the defendants because they were paid for driving traffic to those websites. According to the government, more than four million computers located in over 100 countries were infected with the malware as part of the scheme, which allegedly netted millions of dollars for the defendants.

Victims’ computers allegedly became infected with the malware when they visited certain websites or downloaded certain software to view videos online. The malware enabled the defendants to digitally hijack internet searches by changing the DNS server settings on victims’ computers to reroute their searches to “rogue DNS servers” controlled and operated by the defendants. Victims were re-directed to unwanted websites either when they clicked on internet search links that they thought would take them to other websites (what the government refers to as “click hijacking”) or through advertisements that Ivanov and others allegedly substituted for advertisements that were supposed to appear on particular web pages (what the government calls “advertising replacement fraud”). Arrangements have been made to substitute legitimate servers for the rogue servers as a temporary remediation measure so that victims’ computers will not lose their ability to access websites.

Ivanov has not yet indicated what his defense will be to the charges. He faces a maximum sentence of 85 years in prison in the case, which is pending before U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. His next court appearance is set for April 23, 2012. Ivanov’s co-defendants in the case include five other Estonian nationals also arrested in November 2011 who are in custody in Estonia, and one Russian national, who remains at large.

As the Internet continues to expand to include a greater portion of the global economy, the ability to reach enormous numbers of computers will create incentives for technologically savvy wrongdoers to manipulate Internet users for illegal purposes. This case shows that the scale on which Internet conduct operates will mean that affiliate marketers and others who direct traffic on the Internet will be the subject of scrutiny by federal authorities. Even companies that are engaged in legitimate Web-based businesses need to be aware of this possible scrutiny.