18-year-old Ukrainian man detained in Bucharest after attempted fraud of 180,000 lei through spoofing
An 18-year-old Ukrainian citizen was caught red-handed by police from Sector 5 after attempting to take 180,000 lei from a 46-year-old woman.
Caught red-handed with envelopes of money: how a 180,000 lei fraud attempt failed in Bucharest
Google News RO — Crime (ro) reports that police officers from Sector 5 of the General Police Directorate of Bucharest Municipality detained an 18-year-old Ukrainian citizen on Wednesday, suspected of complicity in attempted fraud. The young man allegedly attempted to take 180,000 lei from a 46-year-old woman as part of a spoofing fraud scheme.
According to a statement transmitted by the Capital Police to AGERPRES, on 1 September, at around 9:00, the woman alerted police after having been contacted by telephone on the previous day by several persons who presented themselves as employees of public institutions. They allegedly deceived her into believing that her bank accounts had been compromised and convinced her to take out a loan of 180,000 lei, a sum that was to be handed over in cash, under the pretext of later transfer to "secondary secured accounts" created in the victim's name.
An essential element of the case was the swift reaction of the injured party, explicitly highlighted in the Capital Police's statement. The woman was still in telephone contact with the purported representatives of the institutions at the moment she alerted the authorities, giving police the opportunity to intervene in real time.
At 10:55, police officers spotted the young Ukrainian man at the moment he was receiving from the victim two white envelopes, which he believed contained the 180,000 lei. He was immediately taken to Sector 5 Police headquarters, where, following the administration of evidence, it was decided to continue criminal prosecution under the aspect of complicity in attempted fraud.
"From the investigation it emerged that he, based on a prior understanding with other persons, allegedly participated in the attempt to mislead the injured party, by collecting the sum of money which she was supposed to hand over, after being made to believe that her funds were in danger and that they needed to be transferred or handed over in order to be protected", police stated in their statement.
The young man was detained for 24 hours, to be presented to magistrates with a legal recommendation. The investigation is being continued by police officers from Sector 5, under the supervision of the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Court of Sector 1, for complicity in attempted fraud.
The investigation is ongoing with a view to identifying all persons involved in the network and establishing the entire criminal activity. Police officers are carrying out specific activities to determine the structure of the group and the role of each participant.
"Through the timely report, police officers carried out activities which led to catching red-handed the person who was supposed to take the money. Thus, the sum of 180,000 lei was not lost", representatives of the Capital Police stated, emphasising the importance of vigilance and the swift reaction shown by the victim.
Source: Google News RO — Crime (ro)