Massive card-cloning network used lottery website to siphon funds
Massive card-cloning network used lottery website to siphon funds
NATIONAL Police say at least 1,600 people have been caught out by credit-card cloners who topped up their bank accounts using the State lottery website, www.loteriasyapuestos.es.
The accused parties, who hacked into Wi-Fi connections to avoid being traced, would add funds to their own online lottery ticket accounts with sums ranging from 90 to 180 euros, then move these to their bank accounts.
They are said to have driven three lorries with containers filled with top-of-the-range technology equipment worth 26,000 euros, bought with the proceeds of their online fraud, from Fuenlabrada (Madrid) to Lagos in Nigeria, via Amberes in Belgium.
Although the victims are said to be all over the world, a total of 262 of them are in Spain, say investigators.
A police probe began in October when National Police in Toledo received four separate reports of sums being taken from bank accounts using credit or debit cards without authorisation from the account-holder, and added to online 'virtual' lottery funds.
Further inquiries showed that the money was then moved to bank accounts which did not bear the victims' names, before being drawn out in cash.
Three people, including the ringleader, were arrested initially and three homes were raided in the towns of Illescas and Torrijos (Toledo province), from which a large haul of computer equipment and documents connected to the card-cloning exercises were seized.
Personal data, including passwords for online video games had been acquired by hacking.
The victims in Spain lost a total of 23,810 euros, and a report made by a bank on behalf of hundreds of customers showed a theft of 47,785 euros.
At least 1,200 fraudulent withdrawals were made, and in total the gang netted up to 1.8 million euros, say National Police.
Raids on properties led to the confiscation of 34 national identity cards, 68 residence permits and 42 passports, all of which were forged and allowed the gang to use assumed names in Spain and abroad.
They also found 62 Trojan Horse programmes for hacking bank accounts, 38 stolen passwords for private Wi-Fi networks, 1,766 bank card PINs, 43,000 email addresses and four IT security programmes.
Police say the accused parties had a high level of IT knowledge which enabled them to successfully hack internet users' data.
They wish to point out that the State lottery website is, in itself, a secure portal, but that the fraud had been carried out through it after the criminals had already managed to track down card numbers.
