Hackers go green

Even computer hackers are trying to get in on the green movement.

In a sign that credit-card scams are so last year, a team of hackers last month managed to dupe companies in Europe, Japan and New Zealand into turning over around 250,000 carbon credits worth a total of $4 million.

According to German newspaper Der Spiegel, the hackers sent emails that claimed to be from the German Emissions Trading Authority to employees at 2,000 companies, requesting the e-mail recipient re-register their accounts with the trading authority, which trades carbon credits and records the transactions.

The victims were directed to a fake Web page, where upon “reregistering,” they would pass along their account information to the hackers.

Authorities said that of the 2,000 companies targeted in the attack, seven fell for the ruse, including one firm that lost $2.1 million as a result of the scam. Many of the credits were then resold to buyers who likely thought the sales were on the level. As countries try to cut down on carbon emissions, carbon credits have become a hot commodity. The credits allow companies that produce higher levels of emissions to buy credits from firms that produce fewer greenhouse gasses. In Europe alone, some $130 billion worth of credits were traded last year.

The German Emissions Trading Authority suspended access to its databases for a week while it conducts an investigation.