Russian cops have smashed a gang of modern-day pirates that ambushed people's computers in order to steal their YouTube accounts. According to the press release of the department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, they carried out a series of raids in the city of Penza in the western Russian region of the same name, arresting six people on 18th August. The cybercriminals allegedly used malware and other tricks in order to gain access to computers where they would then attempt to steal access codes for social media accounts, and would then take them over, denying the original owner access. A YouTube channel with significant followers can earn revenue from advertising every time anybody watches an item. Large channels with significant traffic can earn thousands of pounds a month with little effort on the part of those involved. YouTube accounts that were hijacked by the hackers were then sold on to others and it is unclear if they realised these accounts had been stolen in the first place, as the investigation is still in its infancy.