£780m takeover of co-op bank agreed

Arrests in online scam probe

users to set up phishing websites designed to trick victims into revealing personal information such as email addresses, passwords and bank details.

Criminal subscribers were able to log on and choose from existing sites or request bespoke pages replicating those of trusted brands including banks, healthcare agencies and postal services, reports the Manchester Evening News.

LabHost even provided templates and an easy to follow tutorial allowing would-be fraudsters with limited IT knowledge to use the service.

At the end of the tutorial, a robotic voice told fraudsters: “Stay safe and good spamming.”

A POTENTIAL takeover of the Co-operative Bank worth up to £780 million has been agreed.

Coventry Building Society has agreed the buy-out of its rival high street lender.

It follows discussions over a possible merger between the two parties, which have taken place for several months. The Co-op Bank is based on Balloon Street in Manchester city centre.

Steve Hughes, chief executive of Coventry Building Society, described the possible buy-out as an ‘exciting moment’. He added: “The Co-operative Bank is a financially stable, profitable organisation with a shared heritage and products and services that complement our own. We’re confident that we have the people, capability and the financial strength to bring both organisations together successfully.”