EC3, European Authorities Take Down Romanian Cybercriminals

Romanian and French police, in conjunction with the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), have successfully dismantled a cybercrime network comprised primarily of Romanian citizens believed to have stolen more than €2m.

The network is suspected of hacking into international non-cash payments systems, completing illegal transactions and money transfers, money laundering and drug trafficking. The criminals were reportedly using RAT (remote access tool) malware with keylogger functionality, which allowed them to take over computers used by money transfer services in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Norway and the UK. Losses incurred by the network’s activities are estimated to be at least €2m. The criminals are said to have invested their spoils in different types of property.

Romanian and French police raided 177 addresses last week. Fully 115 people were questioned, and 65 were detained. Authorities seized large sums of money, luxury vehicles and IT equipment during the raids.

“As a direct result of the excellent cooperation and outstanding work by police officers and prosecutors from Romania, France and other European countries, a key criminal network has been successfully taken down this week,” said Troels Oerting, head of EC3.

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