International Online Phishing Ring Busted
Photo by: Manu_el_o_matic!
FBI arrested Hiep Thanh Tran and Caroline That on Sunday night at a Costa Mesa hotel. FBI made the arrests following an investigation that started from December last year when they first got whiff of an extensive, underground international phishing scam that was reaping its harvest on US soil. In charges unsealed last week, Deputy Attorney General Mark R. Filip, indicted 33 individuals, many of them residing in Romania, on counts of bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and unauthorized access to protected computers.
An estimate says the online phishing scam may have yielded fraudsters $3 Million from thousands of their local and international victims.
The scam was run using a system that involved people who acted out roles of ‘suppliers’, ‘runners’, and ‘cashiers’.
Suppliers were the people who set off the chain. Based in Romania, they stole such online financial data of internet users as their bank account and credit card account numbers. They prompted users to reveal these confidential information under the guise of a security alert email sent by their bank or credit card company. The emails are sent to millions by the fraudsters hoping at least a handful of its recipients take the bait. At one go, the latest scam operation is said to have sent as many as 1.3 Million emails!
The stolen data were collected and transmitted innocuously to ‘cashiers’ stationed across the world through online chatting.
‘Cashiers’ used devices called ‘encoders’ to drill this info into ATM cards, hotel room key cards, casino cards or practically any card that is capable of holding such information.
‘Runners’ got into the action next and checked whether cards worked properly by testing them on the ATM. This done, they zero in on accounts that would fetch them the largest amount of money. The ‘cashiers’ then went out and withdrew cash from ATM’s from the targeted accounts. Later, they would wire a portion of the money to their accomplices sitting in Romania.
Interestingly, investigations into the scam were sparked off by a tip-off about the photograph of a suspect splashed across the media by law enforcement agencies. The individual was photographed withdrawing money from an ATM and had aroused suspicions. This information helped police to unravel the scam.
Related posts:
- Prime Bank Note Fraud-Prevention Tips!
- Busting of Fake Credit Card racket near Toronto makes this a good time to revisit Credit Card Fraud!
- Phone Scam Targets Glenview Residents
- Phishing scam solicits Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank customers
- Card Skimming: Herkimer Police seem to have netted a big one
