A 22-year old man connected with the notorious Lizard Squad group of hackers has been arrested by Thames Valley police on suspicion of a series of PayPal-related fraud offences.
The South East Regional Organised Crime Unit says the arrest of Vinnie Omari is in connection with an ongoing investigation in to cyber fraud offences which took place between 2013 and August 2014 during which victims reported funds being stolen from their PayPal accounts.
The Lizard Squad gang, of which Omari is thought to be a member, is behind a series of attacks on Sony’s PlayStation Network and Microsoft’s Xbox Live gaming services over Christmas.
The group has used the exploit to promote a commercial DDOS tool - dubbed LizardStresser - which it is selling for $6 a month on underground crime forums.
"This booter is famous for taking down some of the world’s largest gaming networks such as Xbox Live, Playstation Network, Jagex, BattleNet, League of Legends, and many more!" claims the promotional literature for the tool.
Omari, who has been released on bail until a full hearing in March, recently appeared on Sky News as an “online security analyst” in a segment devoted to Lizard Squad antics.