Dozens of residents of Northern Greece lost their money after a criminal group gained access to their bank accounts using stolen data from the Dark Web.
Among those convicted were a former priest and a policeman, and the total damage exceeded 175 thousand euros.
The case was heard by the Triple Court of Criminal Appeal of Thessaloniki. According to the investigation, the group operated in 2018–2019 and used a scheme for accessing the Internet banking of its victims, which was quite complex for that time.
A total of ten defendants appeared in court. Seven were found guilty, three were acquitted. The imposed penalties ranged from 10 months of imprisonment to 11 years of imprisonment.
Former priest, his nephew and policeman
Among the key defendants in the case was 42-year-old former priest, defrockedas well as his 26-year-old nephew.
According to the case materials, both played a leading role in the group’s activities.
The court appointed the former priest 11 years imprisonmentand to his nephew – 10 years.
At the same time, the 26-year-old man is already serving a long sentence for similar frauds, which were discovered later.
His 42-year-old uncle, in turn, is already in custody on another case – about alleged involvement in illegal transportation of migrants.
Another person convicted was a police officer. He was assigned seven years imprisonment for participation in a criminal organization and complicity in fraud.
The second policeman, who was also accused in the case, was acquitted.
“Keys” to bank accounts were bought on the Dark Web
According to investigators, the main source of information for the group was the so-called Dark Web – the hidden part of the Internet.
There, participants in the scheme, as stated in the case materials, acquired digital databases with stolen logins, passwords, personal data and other information of bank clients.
This data was previously stolen by unknown persons and then put up for sale.
Having received the username and password, the attackers moved on to the next stage – bypassing the additional protection of Internet banking.
How to bypass bank protection
To access the accounts, the criminals, according to the prosecution, used forwarding phone calls and messages.
Calls and SMS intended for the account owner were redirected to phones controlled by group members.
In this way, they could receive additional one-time security codes used by banks to confirm transactions.
After this, the criminals received full access to the victim’s web-banking and could actually manage their money.
Not only did they withdraw money
The scheme was noticeably more complicated than the usual transfer of money from one account to another.
From the hacked bank accounts, according to the indictment, prepaid debit cards.
With their help, the attackers bought electronic equipment. They kept some of the devices for themselves, and then resold some.
But another method of monetizing the stolen money turned out to be especially unusual.
They used other people’s money to pay off debts to the tax authorities and ΔΕΗ
The group members found people who needed to pay off debts to the state or companies.
These debts were then paid through web banking with bank accounts of unsuspecting victims.
The case file mentions payments in favor of:
Greek Tax Authority, ΔΕΗ and mobile operators.
In return, the owners of the debts, as follows from the case materials, paid remuneration to the participants in the scheme.
In fact, money stolen from one account was turned into another person’s legally repaid debt, and the criminals received a commission in cash.
Cryptocurrency was also used
In some cases, to confuse the movement of money, group members also purchased cryptocurrencies.
According to the prosecution, in this way they tried to complicate the tracking of cash flows and the origin of stolen funds.
Dozens of victims and damage over 175 thousand euros
The investigation identified dozens of episodes of fraud.
The total financial loss exceeded 175 thousand euros.
The case was solved following an investigation by the Northern Greece Cybercrime Unit.
The court sentenced the seven defendants to varying sentences, ranging from 10 months to 11 years in prison.
For those sentenced to actual imprisonment, the court ruled that filing an appeal does not suspend execution of punishment.
The accused denied guilt
None of the convicts appeared in person at the trial. They were represented by lawyers.
Most of the defendants almost completely denied the charges.
The 26-year-old man, through his lawyer, admitted only a less serious violation – illegal access to an information system.
The defense also referred to the defendant’s illness, which, according to her, could affect the degree of his responsibility for his actions.
Why is this scheme still relevant?
Although the crimes date back to 2018-2019, the principle used has remained virtually unchanged: it is not enough for attackers to only obtain the password from a bank account – they need to intercept and second factor confirming the operation.
Therefore, the danger is posed not only by the theft of a bank password, but also by any unexpected changes in the operation of a mobile phone: loss of connection, sudden forwarding of calls or SMS, as well as messages about logging into Internet banking from an unknown device.
In such cases, the account holder should immediately contact the bank and mobile operator, block Internet banking and check recent transactions.
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