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Spain, Romania and Austria, 27 suspected members of cybercrime groups have been arrested.
Europol, with the assistance of local law enforcement agencies, carried out a series of arrests in several European countries, eliminating the criminal gangs involved in SIM swapping (SIM card swapping).
In an operation called Quinientos Dusim, employees of the European Center for the Fight against Cybercrime Europol (EC3), the Spanish National Police and the Spanish Civil Guard arrested 12 suspects in the Spanish cities of Benidorm, Granada and Valladolid. As part of the Smart Cash operation, law enforcement officials in Romania and Austria arrested 14 alleged members of yet another cybercriminal gang.
Members of the first group are suspected of stealing € 3 million as a result of a series of cyber attacks. Using malicious software, attackers stole user credentials for online banking, and then filed a request to telecom operators to recover victims' SIM cards by presenting fake IDs. Having received a duplicate of SIM-cards, the attackers intercepted verification codes for two-factor authentication and transferred funds from other people's bank accounts to dummy ones.
In the case of Romania and Austria, cybercriminals used a similar scheme. Attackers stole credentials in the same way and intercepted security codes using SIM swapping. However, cashing of funds was carried out through cardless ATMs.
The group "cleared" more than 100 victims. In each case, the attackers stole about € 6-137 thousand. In total, about half a million euros were stolen.
Europol, with the assistance of local law enforcement agencies, carried out a series of arrests in several European countries, eliminating the criminal gangs involved in SIM swapping (SIM card swapping).
In an operation called Quinientos Dusim, employees of the European Center for the Fight against Cybercrime Europol (EC3), the Spanish National Police and the Spanish Civil Guard arrested 12 suspects in the Spanish cities of Benidorm, Granada and Valladolid. As part of the Smart Cash operation, law enforcement officials in Romania and Austria arrested 14 alleged members of yet another cybercriminal gang.
Members of the first group are suspected of stealing € 3 million as a result of a series of cyber attacks. Using malicious software, attackers stole user credentials for online banking, and then filed a request to telecom operators to recover victims' SIM cards by presenting fake IDs. Having received a duplicate of SIM-cards, the attackers intercepted verification codes for two-factor authentication and transferred funds from other people's bank accounts to dummy ones.
In the case of Romania and Austria, cybercriminals used a similar scheme. Attackers stole credentials in the same way and intercepted security codes using SIM swapping. However, cashing of funds was carried out through cardless ATMs.
The group "cleared" more than 100 victims. In each case, the attackers stole about € 6-137 thousand. In total, about half a million euros were stolen.