Busted: $3.9bn online fraud

The fraud, which relied on faking the web pages of Bloomberg and Euroclear - the international system for clearing securities and Eurobonds - was picked up after reports to the International Chamber of Commerce's (ICC) Commercial Crime Service.

The ICC's subsequent investigation revealed an international gang of conmen had evolved a complex fraud involving the sale of fake banking guarantees claiming to be from 29 European banks, with a face value of millions of pounds.

As part of the sale of the bogus 'high-yield investment bonds', victims would be shown websites sporting domain names such as www.euroclear30.50megs.com and www.bloomberg.50megs.com, where they would see a copy of the organisation's websites and information backing the fake bonds ranging in value from $50m to $415m.

According to sources, some of the victims, who were promised massive returns on their money, parted with six figure sums for the forged documents.

"We were informed that advance fees of hundreds of thousands of dollars were paid for the issue of those fraudulent guarantees, and the websites were used to validate the documents," said one of the ICC investigators.

The investigators added that the conmen's use of technology and the web is becoming increasingly common. Criminals have been quick to tap the potential of the web by building impressive web pages to camouflage fraudulent operations with a veneer of respectability.

On other occasions, similar frauds have involved the International Monetary Fund, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve Bank.

The ICC investigation was launched following persistent reports to the organisation that copies of both Euroclear and Bloomberg web pages had made an appearance on the internet.

It is the second time Bloomberg has fallen foul of web impersonation. On the first occasion, fake Bloomberg pages were used to artificially pump a company share price, prompting a rapid response from Bloomberg, anxious to maintain the all-important reputation of its web pages.

In this second instance, the repercussions could be more damaging, according to investigators. It is likely that the web pages had been held on nearly 100 different domains on 50megs.com, an internet host offering free web space.

"By shutting down the fraudulent sites in cases like this, we are not only protecting investors from scams, but also helping companies like Bloomberg to maintain their reputation," Jonathan Merrett, assistant director of the ICC's Cybercrime Unit, said.

The ICC is due to publish further details on its investigation on its website later today at http://www.iccwbo.org