Combating cybercrime: 25 fraudsters exposed in 7 regions, causing losses to citizens of more than UAH 5 million
Kyiv • UNN
A criminal organization that used phishing sites and fake call centers was exposed in seven regions of Ukraine. The fraudsters deceived elderly people by stealing their money through fake websites selling goods.
The SBU served suspicion notices to individuals of organizing fraudulent call centers. They used phishing websites. The victims were mostly elderly citizens who paid them money for the alleged purchase of household goods.
Transmitted by UNN with reference to TG channel of the Prosecutor General's Office.
Large-scale operations to combat cybercrime were conducted in seven regions. [25 members of criminal organizations were served with a notice of suspicion. According to the investigation, the suspects organized the activities of fraudulent call centers.
The victims were mostly elderly people. They paid the fraudsters money for the alleged purchase of household goods.
The members of the criminal organization used phishing websites and subsequently transferred the stolen funds to crypto wallets under their control. They unauthorizedly interfered with the accounts of remote bank account management systems, reissuing citizens' SIM cards and using them as financial numbers to log in to the victims' accounts.
The suspects also called citizens on behalf of the bank's security officers, learned confidential information, gained access to account management, and withdrew the victims' funds to their own accounts. In total, the amount of losses to citizens is over UAH 5 million.
Law enforcement officers conducted 50 searches in Lviv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Khmelnytskyi regions and in Kyiv. They seized 139 computers, 56 mobile phones, 45 bank drop cards, 26 SIM cards, more than 38 mobile operator starter packs, and draft records.
The suspects are charged with participation in a criminal organization, fraud, theft, as well as unauthorized interference with information systems and unauthorized sale or distribution of restricted information stored in electronic computers, automated systems, computer networks or on the carriers of such information (Art. 255, Art. 190, 185, 361, Art. 361-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
To recap
The Deputy Minister of Defense and former MP were exposed in a large-scale scam for the purchase of military uniforms through a Turkish company. The difference of $10 million between the real and inflated cost ended up in the pockets of the organizers of the scheme.
