Cybercrime has no boundaries anymore: from giant corporations to ordinary citizens – how to avoid falling for fraudsters
15 April 11:26
Today, you don’t need to hack into servers to steal millions – a fake letter and a convincing story are enough. Every day, cybercriminals deceive Ukrainians by disguising themselves as banks, volunteers, or government agencies. How to avoid becoming the next victim and why the most dangerous vulnerability is a person – in the
Fraudsters don’t always use sophisticated viruses or hacker attacks – sometimes a fake email and a little bit of chutzpah are enough. This is the subject of an exclusive interview with
“Even tech giants can lose a huge amount of money – and no, this is not some kind of sophisticated hack. This is a scheme that can actually be repeated by almost anyone who knows how to write letters and has a little bit of chutzpah,” Voronin said.
This is a scheme implemented by a Lithuanian citizen Evaldas Rimasauskas in 2013-2015. He sent fake invoices to Google and Facebook allegedly from a real supplier, the Taiwanese company Quanta Computer. And the tech giants paid: Google – $23 million, Facebook – $98 million.
“Rimasauskas registered a company with the same name in Latvia, collected data on financial managers through phishing emails and calls, and then sent fake invoices with new details. And most importantly, the employees believed it,” Voronin explained.
According to Voronin, the human factor was a key element of the scheme.
“Routine, large volumes, trust in correspondence – and millions went to the fraudster’s accounts,” he emphasized.
The fraudster immediately transferred the funds through banks in different countries: Latvia, Cyprus, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary, and Hong Kong. He was detained in 2017 and sentenced to 5 years in prison in 2019. Rimasauskas is obliged to return $49.7 million and pay $26.5 million in compensation. However, $46 million was never recovered.
What does this mean for business?
“Even tech giants with huge security budgets can fall victim to simple fraudulent schemes,” emphasized Yakov Voronin.
Cybercriminals are constantly improving their methods, but the basic principles of security remain the same – check, confirm, doubt, Voronin summarized.
Cybercriminals disguise themselves as banks and volunteers: how to protect yourself online – cyber police tips
Cyber fraud is a crime committed using the Internet, mobile devices, and computer technology. Fraudsters are actively using phishing links, fake online stores and social networks to steal bank card data and take possession of people’s money.
According to Lyudmyla Fedorova, head of the Cybercrime Department, a separate type of fraud is “cyber begging”: raising funds for the alleged treatment or needs of the Armed Forces via Instagram, Facebook, or Telegram.
Calls are especially dangerous when attackers pose as bank employees and ask for personal data or install remote access programs under the guise of account security. Thanks to the spoofing technology, the messages look like official ones, and the data is extracted under the pretext of a “routine inspection” or “cyberattack.”
Fedorova advises always checking the website address, the presence of an SSL certificate (a lock in the browser), and being vigilant to suspicious messages. In case of fraudulent transfer of details, immediately block the card and contact the bank.
