In April of this year, officials of the Cybercrime Division of the State Police detained a man who had pretended to be an employee of JSC Citadele banka on suspicion of fraud.
During the search, police officers seized both large quantities of prepaid SIM cards and devices for changing voice.
The swindler had promised to work in a bank, devising various preconditions for getting a job, and thus eliciting bank account access data.
As a result of fraudulent activities, the population suffered property damage in the total amount of more than 16 thousand euros. Criminal proceedings have been initiated in connection with the incident and an investigation is ongoing. The suspect is in custody for the suspect.
Criminal proceedings were initiated in August last year, for which residents received telephone calls from a person who pretended to be an employee of JSC “Citadele banka”, tried to obtain from JSC “Citadele banka” customers such data that allows illegal use of means of payment and financial instruments.
The investigation revealed that similar fraudulent calls were made from different phone numbers using anonymous prepaid SIM cards. And as a result of these fraudulent calls, individuals and legal entities suffered property damage in the amount of at least 16,441.92 euros.
Examining each such case of fraud separately, it was found that the fraudster acted according to the following scheme:
- On the websites ss.lv, www.reklama.lv and www.mm.lv, advertisements for job search or the need for a loan were found;
- Pretending to be an employee of JSC “Citadele banka”, he called and offered a job at the bank, setting various preconditions. For example, asked to provide Internet banking data, open an account, make a transfer for allegedly activating the account, download files that record customer data, etc .;
- The persons were then deceived by access data to bank accounts and the funds in the accounts were hijacked, and / or by using access data to bank accounts, loans were issued, which were later hijacked.
The Cybercrime Unit carried out a series of operational measures and investigations to identify and apprehend the fraudster. As a result, in April of this year, one person was arrested for committing the said criminal offense.
During the search, a number of mobile phones, smartphones, internet routers and a large number of prepaid SIM cards, as well as devices for changing and masking the voice, were removed from the person’s residence.
During the investigation, it was established that the person has committed such criminal offenses since April 2020 and the obtained set of evidence gave grounds to recognize the person as a suspect and to terminate the criminal offense.
The state police reminds that fraudsters operate in waves and use various methods, so be careful when communicating with strangers over the phone.
Unknown number – If the caller’s number is unknown, be careful during the call and do not disclose your personal information, it could be a fraudulent attempt to contact you.
A phone conversation that puts pressure on you – phone fraudsters rush and use your weaknesses to encourage you to make quick, ill-considered decisions, in which case end the conversation if you are not sure if the caller is what you are pretending to be.
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