Prosecutors of the Galician District Prosecutor’s Office in Lviv have sent to court an indictment against a 19-year-old Lviv resident.
He is charged with completed attempted fraud, fraud, unauthorised interference with information (automated), electronic communication, information and communication systems, electronic communication networks, as well as creation of malware for the purpose of illegal use and distribution of restricted information stored in an automated system (Art. 2 Art. 15, Art. 190, Art. 190, Art. 190, Art. 361, Art. 361-1, Art. 361-2, Art. 361-1, Art. 361-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The investigation established that the defendant organised a fraudulent scheme to obtain funds from citizens using so-called phishing websites.
To do this, the man sent messages via the Telegram chatbot with information about the possibility of receiving assistance from the state. In particular, it concerned internally displaced persons, single mothers, or assistance to citizens from the UN.
In the messages, he included links to fake websites posing as banking institutions. There, the victims entered their personal data to access online banking.
In this way, the man received access codes to the victims’ accounts and was able to conduct transactions with their funds.
In addition, after receiving the victims’ data, the offender distributed their data to third parties using the same messenger.
The pre-trial investigation was carried out by investigators of the Main Department of the National Police in Lviv region, with operational support provided by the Prosecutor’s Office in Lviv region of the National Police.
Note: In accordance with Art. 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and shall not be subjected to criminal punishment until his or her guilt is proved in accordance with the law and established by a court verdict of guilty.
Information Policy Department of the Lviv Regional Prosecutor‘s Office