Swedish hacker on FBI 'most wanted' list

A 33-year-old Swedish computer hacker, who is wanted by the FBI, has been discovered living in Ängelholm, southern Sweden, yet Swedish police can only keep an eye on him.

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Björn Daniel Sundin is wanted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for wire fraud, conspiracy to commit computer fraud and computer fraud. The FBI has offered $20,000 for information leading to the arrest of the man.

However, it was revealed on Tuesday that Sundin is a registered resident of Ängelholm, some 80 kilometres north of Malmö.

”He is here in Sweden,” said Bertil Olofsson, chief of Sweden’s International Criminal Sector, to the Aftonbladet newspaper.

“And we have reported this to the FBI”.

Nevertheless, Sundin has not been extradited to the United States, as Sweden and the US have no extradition treaty for Swedish citizens who are suspected criminals.

”Sweden could take over the investigation at the International Public Prosecution Office in Malmö. If Sweden takes over the prosecution, he will be put on trial here. If he is convicted, he will serve his sentence in Sweden,” Olofsson said.

The charges against the man are extensive, and include conning people from over 60 countries into purchasing over one million fake virus protection programmes.

Between December 2006 and October 2008, Sundin and an accomplice tricked computer users into buying programs by hijacking their browsers, causing errors, and suggesting they buy protection from their own company “Innovative Marketing Inc”.

Sundin convinced internet users that their computers were infected with "malware" and encouraged them to buy "scareware" – which in itself had no ability to remedy the purported defects, according to an FBI statement.

FBI reports that Sundin’s crimes resulted in a consumer loss of more than $100 million.

The FBI reported that the 33-year-old and his conspirator, Shaileshkumar P. Jain, are wanted for a total of 24 counts of fraud, each carrying a potential sentence of 20 years per count in the US.

The Bureau issued a federal warrant for the pair's arrest in May 2010.