US authorities charged 38 people on May 19 with stealing names, Social Security identification numbers, credit card data and other information from unsuspecting Internet users as part of an international cyber-crime ring.
The alleged fraud includes charges of phishing – soliciting information for illegal use via email – and ‘smishing’ – soliciting information for illegal use via mobile-phone text messages. The scams, based in Romania, sought to rip off thousands of American consumers and hundreds of financial institutions, according to indictments unsealed in Los Angeles, California, and New Haven, Connecticut.
The majority of those charged – more than half – are Romanian, but the alleged scam also operated from Canada, Pakistan, Portugal and the United States. The two separate indictments were unveiled on Monday; officials said that two Romanians allegedly involved in both of the related cases provided the link.
“The United States government takes the threat of international organized crime seriously, and the Romanian government does as well,” said Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip in a written statement issued from Bucharest, Romania. “In recent years, we have seen an increase in the threat posed by international organized criminals who use cyberspace to target victims around the world. The anonymity of the Internet makes it an ideal tool for this kind of fraud, and law enforcement agencies in the United States have conducted several recent investigations in partnership with our Romanian colleagues.”
The two cases are seen to be the first high-profile international organized crime cases since US Attorney General Michael Mukasey announced a new strategy to deal with transnational criminals on April 23.
Thirty-three individuals were charged in a 65-count indictment unsealed in Los Angeles on Monday. The indictment alleges that the individuals participated in an international racketeering scheme that relied on the Internet to facilitate the theft and misuse of credit card numbers. Seven were charged in a two-count indictment for phishing in New Haven, Conn., that was filed in January. Two of those seven were also listed in the Los Angeles case.
Phishing typically involves sending fraudulent e-mails that include links directing recipients to fake Web sites where they are asked to provide sensitive data. Prosecutors say scam artists based in Romania snagged information about thousands of credit and debit card accounts and other personal data from people who answered spam e-mail. The data then were sent to the United States and encoded on magnetic cards that could be used to withdraw money from bank accounts.
Some of those charged used hotel door access cards, with their magnetic stripes reprogrammed, to withdraw an estimated total of $20,000 from ATMs. Filip, the deputy Attorney General, estimated the total amount stolen in the scam to be several million dollars.
Romania Indictments
Published: 03 June 2008
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