Romania Swoops In on 70 Cybertheft Suspects

“Romanian police arrested 70 suspects on Tuesday who they claim were involved in eBay scams and other cybercrimes since 2006.

The suspects, believed to be members of three separate gangs, used phishing attacks to gain the login credentials of eBay account holders, then used the accounts to auction off nonexistent goods. Approximately 800 victims have been identified who sent money for non-existent Rolex watches, cars, yachts, private airplanes and other luxury goods. Buyers from around the world lost an estimated $1 million after they sent money for winning auctions, but never received goods. According to one Romanian news source, an American buyer paid about $90,000 for a luxury aircraft in one auction.

The crooks allegedly operated in Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. Police so far recovered only a small, undetermined amount of money in the raids. Romanian authorities posted a video of one of the police raids on YouTube (above).

Suspects in several countries reportedly exchanged homes, cars and phone cards among themselves.”

(Romania Swoops In on 70 Cybertheft Suspects | Threat Level | Wired.com)