A multi-year investigative effort by Romanian and US officials paid off with the announcement of the arrest of 70 Romanians for their participation in an international cybercrime ring. Officials of the Romanian police issued a press release on Sunday with the news.
The cybercrime ring used phishing attacks to dupe innocent internet users across Europe and North America to sharing their login credentials (account name and password) for their online auction accounts. This allowed the criminals to swoop in, create fake auctions for big ticket items like boats and jewelry. Naturally, those who bid on the items would send their money or credit card information to the criminals and fail to receive any goods. Officials estimate there were more than 800 victims of this scam, which went on for several years. Losses from the fake auctions are estimated at nearly $1 million US.
However, in an interview posted to YouTube, Gary Dickson, the head of the FBI office in Bucharest estimated the losses at “several hundred million dollars”. He said that the money will not be recovered since in Romania, “it’s easier for people to hide their money than it is in the US.”
As a consumer, the reminder here is to continue with your best practices:
- Never click a link in email to your online auction, payment, banking, investment and other financial service companies. Assume it’s an effort to steal your login credentials.
- If you think you’ve inadvertently shared your credentials, contact the company immediately and change your passwords. Monitor the account for any signs of illegal access or fraud.
- As a bidder in online auction sites, stick to the “big name” sites and use their payment services. If contacted outside the auction, with a “come on” like “I have another item like the one you bid on” or “the bidding winner changed his mind; would you like to buy it”, do not do business with them. Report them to the auction site.
- And though many people are successful purchasing cars, jewelry and high-end fashions online and from auction sites, you should be extremely cautious and do all the due diligence possible to verify the item, the seller, the circumstances, etc.
Caveat Emptor!
