Two men arrested as a part of cyber crime investigation
By Prempal Singh
Garda money-laundering investigators have asked two men in relationship to a complex cross-border cyber attack.
Included in the lengthy procedure, more than EUR900,000 was recovered by garda? and returned to a foreign company targeted by the cyber criminals.
The cyber attackers hacked into the systems of a company that was anticipated to obtain a Vat repayment.
It obtained bank accounts details and requested that the Vat payment is sent to a new account, handled by them.
The scam is recognized as bill redirection fraud.
The charges were then transferred both inside Ireland and away from doors — at which stage an expert Garda team pounced.
An argument released by Garda headquarters said that “as part of the ongoing operation” by the cash Laundering Investigation Unit (MLIU) of the Economic Criminal offenses Bureau (ECB) two men were arrested in Dublin.
The men, one age 31 and the second aged 67, were held under the provisions of section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and held at Blanchardstown Garda Station.
“The two men were arrested as part of the Money Washing Investigation Unit’s investigation into an Invoice Redirection Scam where a European-based company was induced to mailing a Vat payment to the financial institution account of an individual rather than its true recipient, ” the declaration said.
It said the cyber criminals hacked into the systems of the company that was anticipated to get the Value-added tax money.
“It is assumed that the database of the organization, who were anticipated to receive payment, experienced been the target of a malware attack that allowed the issuing of a request to improve details of the true recipient’s banking accounts. ”
This declared that once the money had been received there were a number of onward transactions both inside and outside Ireland.
The statement declared that therefore of liaison between Financial Intelligence Unit of the ECB and the MLIU and a financial institution more than EUR900, 000 was recovered before it could be licentious.
Banking and Payments Federation Ireland has previously released alerts about Invoice Redirection Fraud after an amount of businesses were targeted.
It said these businesses have received “bogus e-mails being received that purport to be from a current creditor”.
The alert said: “The email generally includes a letter as an attachment, the letter purports to notify the recipient of new (amended) Bank account details to which all future payments are to be sent.
Banking and Payments Federation Ireland said the email notifying the change of details could be in the name of a person that the receiver can be used to dealing with.
“However, the fraudsters will have formulated a bogus email account and the sender’s name which will hold a minor variation, it said.
The federation advised businesses to create a telephone call to a known contact within the organization that was requesting within banking details.
It said not to use contact details on the notice or email that was sent but for use details from documents on file.
Source: www.irishexaminer.com