It’s on the rise electronic fraud in Greecewhich is due not only to its great penetrating power Internet and from Cell phonesbut also in that cybercriminals they are constantly inventing new ways to cheat. Figures provided by the Ministry of Citizens’ Protection in response to a parliamentary inquiry and relating only to the period 2019-2022 show a rapid increase in cybercrime. If we take into account that only cases of computer fraud under article 386A of the Criminal Code are received by the authorities, often with small amounts, the victims do not apply to Police– then the true scale of cybercrime could be much greater.
But what does the evidence show? Last year, compared to 2019, the number of committed electronic frauds increased by 790%, while this percentage increased to 52% compared to 2021. Victims of cybercriminals are growing exponentially, with 619 victims registered by the Greek police in 2019, the number of which has doubled in 2020, and the growth rate has increased dramatically in 2021-2022. Last year there were 5,914 victims, which is 53% more and 385% more than in 2021. How many of these cases have been solved? Last year, about ten times more fraud was detected than in 2019, i.e. 856 cases against 90.
Cybercriminals are constantly discovering new ways to scam.
An offense under Section 386A of the Penal Code includes sending falsified digital data, misleading emails, or viruses that result in the loss of property. This category of crimes includes fraudulently obtaining bank card details, sending emails containing standard banking messages (phishing), posting misleading hyperlinks to popular websites, and embedding malicious code on a website. An equally common form of fraud is the sending of emails to taxpaying citizens “allegedly” from the Independent Tax Authority. However, this method of deception does not appear in the data of the Greek police.
A typical and rather old online scam method has been classified as a Nigerian scam. The recipient is usually informed via email either that they are the sole heir to a very large fortune, or that for a high fee they can help transfer a very large amount of money from Nigeria to their bank account, provided they send a series of personal elements of it. While this is an obvious scam, there were 29 such scams last year, down (-37%) from 2021.
According to the Ministry of Citizens’ Protection, the perpetrators online fraud they are able to hide their real whereabouts and identity with the help of appropriate tools, while in a large number of cases they are outside the Greek territory. The selection of potential victims occurs mostly randomly, as they are sent bulk emails, “spam” messages, or automatic calls are made to all phone numbers in sequence.
Trick with Big Revenues and Virtual Digital Stores
But in addition to fraud under article 386A of the Criminal Code, which provides for the use of a computer and the sending of misleading messages, etc., a type of crime based on the use of a computer in the second stage is also Voskhod.
These are front companies that manage to swindle large amounts of money from unsuspecting citizens, attracting investments with quick and easy returns.
In these cases, a call center operator, usually located outside of Greece, calls an unsuspecting citizen and tells him what he would like to hear. With a very small initial capital, usually 250 euros, he can earn a lot by investing in financial products. He directs him to a specialized “investment advisor” who explains to him how, for example, investing in binary options or cryptocurrencies works.
The actions of this type of ring resulted, according to previous estimates, in financial losses of more than 200 million euros, with the victims in many cases hesitant to contact the authorities. This is because, especially often, they consent to the installation of remote access software on their computer in order to facilitate their registration on the investment platform. In many cases, they also share their bank account credentials with their previously unknown interlocutor so that they can easily and quickly transfer the amount needed to become a subscriber. According to the Ministry of Citizens’ Protection, 185 such scams were recorded in 2022.
The exact size of the losses from monkey online shopping is also largely unknown. It is estimated that two million euros were withdrawn from the bank accounts of the network alone, which was exposed last summer and created 12 fake online stores whose short-lived operation was less than 8 months.
According to experts, most cybercrimes can be prevented if, for example, the targeted victim does not click on a link containing a message from an unknown sender, or if they look for the real identities of their potential counterparties.
Source: Kathimerini
Lori Barajas is an accomplished journalist, known for her insightful and thought-provoking writing on economy. She currently works as a writer at 247 news reel. With a passion for understanding the economy, Lori’s writing delves deep into the financial issues that matter most, providing readers with a unique perspective on current events.