Category Archives: Cyber Crime

Cyber Crime

Three Romanians indicted in $4 million cyber fraud ring that targeted dozens in Northeast Ohio

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Three Romanian nationals were extradited to the United States this week to face charges in connection with a vast cyber fraud conspiracy ring that targeted residents of Northeast Ohio and others around the nation, U.S. Attorney Carole Rendon announced Friday.

Two of the men are scheduled to appear in federal court Friday, while the third will make an initial appearance Monday.

Bogdan Nicolescu, 34, Tiberiu Danet, 31, and Radu Miclaus, 34, face charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit money laundering and others in the 21-count indictment handed up earlier this year.

Investigators say the men and others in the ring, identified in court documents as the Bayrob Group, infected at least 60,000 computers, distributed 11 million malicious emails and stole at least $4 million.

Roughly 50 residents of Northeast Ohio, and countless more around the nation, fell victim to the fraud, FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen Anthony said.

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Cyber Crime, Fraud

Business E-Mail Compromise

The accountant for a U.S. company recently received an e-mail from her chief executive, who was on vacation out of the country, requesting a transfer of funds on a time-sensitive acquisition that required completion by the end of the day. The CEO said a lawyer would contact the accountant to provide further details.

“It was not unusual for me to receive e-mails requesting a transfer of funds,” the accountant later wrote, and when she was contacted by the lawyer via e-mail, she noted the appropriate letter of authorization—including her CEO’s signature over the company’s seal—and followed the instructions to wire more than $737,000 to a bank in China.

The next day, when the CEO happened to call regarding another matter, the accountant mentioned that she had completed the wire transfer the day before. The CEO said he had never sent the e-mail and knew nothing about the alleged acquisition.

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Cyber Crime

AP sources: IRS believes identity thieves who stole personal tax information are from Russia

WASHINGTON — IRS investigators believe the identity thieves who stole the personal tax information of more than 100,000 taxpayers from an IRS website are part of a sophisticated criminal operation based in Russia, two officials told the Associated Press.

The information was stolen as part of an elaborate scheme to claim fraudulent tax refunds, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told reporters. Koskinen declined to say where the crime originated.

But two officials briefed on the matter said Wednesday the IRS believes the criminals were in Russia, based on computer data about who accessed the information. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing criminal investigation.

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Cyber Crime, Hacking, Organized Crime

Criminals use IRS website to steal data on 104,000 people

A “sophisticated” organized crime syndicate used the IRS website to steal tax forms full of personal financial information on 104,000 taxpayers, the agency said Tuesday.

Until the IRS discovered this latest data leak, its website provided a service called “Get Transcript.” It’s an easy way to download several years of tax forms for tasks like applying for a mortgage, or college financial aid.

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Cyber Crime

Romanian Cops Take Down $15 Million Cyber Gang

Romanian police are claiming a major victory after arresting half the members of an organized crime group they believe was responsible for stealing $15 million from bank ATMs via cloned cards.

The Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) claimed in a press release on Sunday that cops raided 42 houses across Bucharest, Bîrlad, Bacau, Pitesti, Galati and Constanta in a bid to dismantle the major cybercrime and money laundering group.

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