Armenia’s NSS exposes international fraud group
YEREVAN, March 20. /ARKA. Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) said it has exposed a criminal group made up of citizens of Armenia and Russia that stole large amounts of money through fraudulent transactions involving bank cards of foreign customers.
According to NSS, members of the group registered three trading companies in Armenia, ostensibly for implementing hotel and restaurant business activity, bought a PoS terminal, allowing making online transactions by entering card holders data only. Then they bought computer equipment, including a cash register terminal, which allows non-cash payments by entering only the data of a cardholder's bank card.
According to NSS, a Russia-based member of the criminal group stole and provided his partners in Armenia with 16-digit numbers, validity periods and passwords of card holders in Australia.
Members of the group in Armenia placed a SIM card in the cash-register’s terminal, connected the device to the network and used the data for transferring large sums of money to their accounts for allegedly provided hotel and restaurant services.
In this way, in August-December 2016, the members of the criminal group stole about 85 million drams (about $158,000) of which 58 million drams (about $ 120,000) they cashed out. As a result of operational and investigative measures carried out by the National Security Service of Armenia, the criminal group was tracked down and three members of the group were arrested. The five- member group is accused of a large amount theft, committed with the use of computer equipment by a group of persons through a preliminary conspiracy.
At the moment, in cooperation with foreign peers, Armenia’s NSS is trying to identify other persons involved in the transnational fraud. --0—
Read the news first and discuss them in our Telegram
18:52 03/20/2017