Three men have been convicted of using fake bank emails to defraud their victims of hundred thousands of pounds, following an investigation lead by the Metropolitan  Police’s e-Crime unit.

Ayodeji John Kareem, 38, Vincent Alonge, 31, and Babatunde Fafore, 41 have been sentenced for a combined 13.5 years after pleading guilty to their charges.

The trio had compromised 900 bank accounts and 10,000 credit cards, the investigation, and stolen at least £599,000. At the time of their arrest, they had the technical capability to operate 40 fake banking websites, which they used to persuade victims to hand over their account details.

"The convictions are believed to be the first prosecutions in the UK involving such detailed evidence of an organised Internet phishing operation," a statement from the Met police reads.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police may soon become a target of hackers itself. Yesterday, online activist group Anonymous threatened to attack the force’s IT systems in retaliation for its involvement in the New International phone hacking scandal.