Many thousands of euros from unsuspecting citizens throughout Cyprus managed to extract a spiral with foreign members, who lately, through messages on mobile phones, have been securing bank data and making withdrawals from different bank branches in Nicosia. The perpetrators sent an sms whose sender was supposedly either the GHS (sender name CY MEDICAL), or an out-of-court payment service for traffic violations (traffic CY) asking citizens in the first case to update their details and in the second to pay out of court. So far there are three complaints to the Larnaca Police, while two more have been recorded in Nicosia and Limassol.
Yesterday, the TAE Larnaca proceeded to arrest a 24-year-old man from Pakistan, who lived in Nicosia. His arrest was made possible after complaints from two citizens. The first was made on September 21 by a 76-year-old man, who reported that a message was sent to him on his mobile phone with the sender appearing to be traffic CY, which he opened and gave, among other things, his bank card number. The result, as he said, was to extort the amount of €3.963 from him with 2 withdrawals from ATMs in Nicosia.
On October 2, the second complaint was made by a 68-year-old man, who said that he had received a message on his mobile phone from CY MEDICAL. After opening the message, he gave, among other things, his credit card number, as a result of which the amount of €770 was extorted from him. After the arrest of the 24-year-old at TAE Larnaca, a third complaint was made by a citizen, who gave his credit card number in a message sent by CY MEDICAL, as a result of which the amount of €2.390 was withdrawn from the account.
The TAE Larnaca came to the arrest of the 24-year-old when it was found through a specific bank that the credit card details of the complainants were installed in an electronic wallet of a specific mobile phone device allegedly connected to the suspect. It is noted that the withdrawals of the money seem to have been made by another person, who is being sought.
The 24-year-old had been placed on the stop list and was arrested at noon on Monday at Larnaca airport, shortly before departing from Cyprus. Three mobile phones, expensive lighters, and cigars bought from a store in Nicosia, the value of which exceeds €50.000, were found in his possession. There are indications, in fact, that the cards used to buy the cigars are stolen. What the Police are investigating is whether the purchase of cigars is linked to money laundering. The suspect claimed in his testimony, however, that he would send the cigars to Dubai to sell them, because, as he claimed, their value quadruples there.
The suspect was brought before the Larnaca District Court in the morning, which ordered his eight-day detention. He is suspected, among other things, of theft, illegal access to information systems, illegal interference with electronic data, interception of data, conspiracy to commit a felony, money laundering and illegal processing of personal data.
It is noted that in the past period another suspect was arrested in Nicosia and tests are being carried out to determine if he is connected to the 24-year-old.
