Cheshire Police arrest man in Scotland on suspicion of hacking Cheshire charity

Detectives from the Cheshire Police have arrested a man in Scotland as part of an investigation into the illegal hacking of a charity based in Runcorn.

At around 5am on Monday 15 July, officers from the Cyber Crime Unit at Cheshire Police executed a warrant at an address in Carron, Falkirk.

A 45-year-old man was arrested at the address on suspicion of  computer misuse offences and fraud. He was subsequently brought back to Cheshire to be questioned by officers and has since been released under investigation.

A number of items were also recovered from the property, including computers, mobile devices and hard drives.

Following the warrant Detective Constable Hannah Clement, a Specialist Cyber Investigator, said:

 “This warrant follows a complex investigation in relation to the illegal hacking of a charity based in Runcorn.

“Over the past four months the charity, which provides valuable support for hundreds of people across the UK, has come under a relentless attack.

“During this time, several of the charity’s systems have been hacked, including their social media accounts, emails and finance systems.

“Not only has this caused a huge inconvenience to the charity, but the scale and impact of the attacks has been so large that it has now become a threat to their very existence.”

If you think you might have been a victim of cyber crime, please call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or visit www.actionfraud.police.uk .