Prior to debuting legal action, Microsoft has investigated some 253 potential phishing cases in Europe and the Middle East. Following the completion of the analysis, the Redmond Company has initiated a total of 129 lawsuits, 97 throughout Europe and the middle East and an additional 32 in collaboration with local authorities.

"Sometimes we initiate our own legal action, but more importantly we work with law enforcement agencies," said Nancy Anderson, deputy general counsel at the software company.

Microsoft attorney Jean-Christophe Le Toquin has revealed that the cases have lead to individual lawsuits against phishers that were harvesting confidential username and password data related to the Hotmail and MSN websites. The phisher's modus operandi was to spoof the two Microsoft addresses and fool the victims into handing over their personal data.

Turkey is the star of Microsoft's anti-phishing legal spree, accounting for a total of 50 criminal complaints. Turkey is also the stage were in one of the phishing cases the local authorities passed a 2.5-year prison sentence. Germany is runner up with 28 lawsuits and France follows in third place with 11 legal actions.

The Redmond Company revealed that four phishers located in France and Norway have settled with the company after agreeing to pay financial penalties of $2,564. None of them was older than 20.