How the circuit worked
They were figured out 16 cases of fraud that took place in various regions of Greece in the first quarter of 2022. After a relevant investigation by the Serres Security Directorate, they were arrested eight men and one woman, who together with unknown accomplices had introduced/joined them in a criminal organization, with the aim of systematically deceiving unsuspecting citizens and extracting money from their bank accounts. Those arrested called companies, businesses or natural persons pretending to be the accountant or the prospective buyer/client and with various tricks extracted the details of their electronic bank accounts (username, login code, OTPs codes). They then transferred sums of money into the bank accounts of people they had “recruit” in return for a monetary reward. In total, they managed to extort from the victims the sum of money of 305,789 euros.
As announced by police authoritiesthe total of 16 cases of fraud occurred from January to March 2022, in various regions of Greece, specifically:
- 7 in Attica,
- 3 in Thessaloniki and
- one each in Grevena, Evros, Evia, Kefalonia, Florina and Chania.
The file that was created was submitted to the public prosecutor of Serres. The file also includes 15 people, beneficiaries of bank accounts, whose details have been identified.
The investigation of the police continues both for the identification of the unknown members of the organization, as well as for their possible participation in other similar criminal acts.