Estonian police on the 25th of May detained two people in connection with a 700,000 euro fraud from the Artists’ Association, writes ERR News.
Last week, information spread that the Estonian Artists’ Association had become a victim of fraud and had lost 700,000 euros. Estonian police reported on the 27th of May that two days earlier they had detained a 22-year-old Lithuanian citizen and a 21-year-old Estonian citizen in connection with the crime.
According to currently available information, the fraudulent scheme began on the 7th of May, when the association’s accountant was contacted by a person who presented himself as a representative of the courier service provider Omniva. The association employee was informed that
a registered letter had been received and that it was necessary to confirm the identity with a PIN code in order to receive it.
This was followed by calls allegedly from the bank and the police, and the victim was convinced that a cyberattack had occurred and that he should participate in a secret police operation to catch the criminals. The victim was under the influence of the fraudsters for a long time, during which time the criminals were given access to his computer, bank accounts and payment cards. The total material losses amounted to 700,000 euros, and most of the funds were transferred to accounts abroad.
The two detained men were charged with cyber fraud committed in a group.
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