The suspected head of a major phishing gang that stole as much as $37 million from online bank accounts was arrested in Brazil by federal police last week.

Police in Rio de Janeiro grabbed Valdir Paulo de Almeida, the alleged leader of an 18-member phishing group that spammed a Trojan horse to approximately three millions e-mail accounts daily. The Trojan included a keylogger element -- keyloggers -- are two-to-three times more prevalent today than a year ago -- that recorded account usernames and passwords, then fed them back to the gang.

Although the gang targeted Brazilians, it also siphoned funds from bank accounts abroad, federal police told Reuters.

"This is the latest arrest of phishers in Brazil," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant with security vendor Sophos, in a statement. "Last year, more than 50 arrests were made and in February, a gang of four were arrested. It''s great that the Brazilian authorities are stamping down on fraudsters."