Operated from Moscow, spoke Latvian: police uncovered a group of telephone fraudsters

Operated from Moscow, spoke Latvian: police uncovered a group of telephone fraudsters 0

The State Police of Latvia is requesting charges to be brought against the members of the organized telephone fraud group operating from Moscow.

According to the State Police, during the pre-trial investigation, it was established that members of a criminal group operating from Moscow were implementing various fraudulent schemes. The perpetrators, posing as bank and police employees, deceived residents of Latvia in the Latvian language. Victims were provided with false information about alleged attempts to withdraw money from their bank accounts or to take out loans in their names.

Under the pretext of preventing fraud, the criminals convinced people to install remote access programs on their mobile phones or computers. They then asked the victims to log into their online banking, resulting in the victims themselves entering their online banking user number, personal code, and confirming money transfers and loan applications prepared by the fraudsters.

Using the obtained data to access online banking, the criminals transferred money to the accounts of other bank clients and then transferred it to bank accounts controlled by the criminal group.

The investigation established that the organized criminal group consisted of five individuals — all of whom are citizens of Latvia. Four of them called and deceived residents of Latvia daily, while the fifth organized the legalization of the stolen funds: recruiting so-called "money mules," transporting cash, and transferring non-cash funds.

Currently, more than 30 individuals have been identified who agreed to use their bank accounts for a reward, allowing the criminal group to receive the stolen money.

On August 3, the criminal case was forwarded for prosecution against the five members of the organized criminal group under the articles of the Criminal Law on fraud and legalization of criminally obtained funds.

According to the police, at least 11 residents of Latvia fell victim to the fraudsters, with total damages exceeding 87,256 euros.

The Cybercrime Unit of the State Police continues the pre-trial investigation within a separate proceeding to identify and investigate other crimes committed by this organized group.

It was previously reported that telephone fraud became one of the most widespread types of cyber fraud last year, affecting many residents of Latvia.