TWO people have been arrested in the North-East in connection with a worldwide computer fraud thought to cost hundreds of millions of pounds a year.

A 37-year-old man and 35-year-old woman were arrested in South Shields on suspicion of fraud in an operation carried out by officers from the North East Regional Special Operations Unit (NERSOU).

The raid was part of a joint Operation Thistle, led by City of London Police working in collaboration with software giant Microsoft into a scam which is thought to be attempted tens of thousands of times every year.

Victims are usually cold-called, usually by phone or increasingly by a computer pop-up, by someone claiming to work for Microsoft and told there is a problem with their computer which can be fixed for a fee.

Instead the fraudsters gain remote access to the victim’s computer and install malicious software, while attempting to gain bank account details to fleece the victim of cash.

Both suspects arrested on Tyneside have been released pending further enquiries.

In a simultaneous operation in Surrey, police arrested a 29-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman in Woking on suspicion of fraud and both have been bailed.

Detective Superintendent Alan Veitch, of NERSOU, said: “We are determined to tackle online fraud, which we know affects many people across the UK.

“Tackling organised crime is a priority for us and we work together with other agencies to deal effectively with it by providing investigative and technical resources and doing all we can to safeguard victims.”

The American software company set up a two-year collaboration with British police after cases of the scam soared.

During the last financial year, more than 34,500 computer software service frauds were reported to Action Fraud, the national fraud and cyber reporting centre, with members of the public losing an estimated £20m.

The average loss is £600 per case and the average age of victims is 62 years.

Commander Dave Clark, City of London Police and National Co-ordinator for Economic Crime, said: “These arrests are just the beginning of our work, making the best use of specialist skills and expertise from Microsoft, local police forces and international partners to tackle a crime that often targets the most vulnerable in our society.”

Police analysis has shown that many of the calls originate in India and that the worldwide losses from victims run into the hundreds of millions of pounds.