YEREVAN, March 21. /ARKA/. Armenia’s National Security Service has tracked down a criminal group made up of Armenian and Russian citizens, which stole money through a cash register terminal with using computers, the press office of the service reported on Monday.
The group registered three commercial companies in Armenia on a false pretext of doing hotel and restaurant businesses, then purchased equipment for cashless payments.
According to the news release, a member of the criminal group in Russia was sending to his accomplices in Armenia the data of the banking cards issued for some residents of Australia, particularly 16-digit numbers, validity terms and passwords.
Swindlers in Armenia placed a SIM card in the terminal connecting the devise to the network an d after that they used data of the received banking cards for transferring the money allegedly paid for hotel and restaurant services.
The offenders transferred around AMD 85 million ($158,000) from accounts at Australian banks, of which they could withdrew only AMD 58 million ($120,000) before they were caught.
In the course of the preliminary inquiry, five members of the group have been charged with gross theft with using computers. Three of them are in detention.
The investigation is under way now and the Armenian national security agency, in cooperation with foreign agencies, is trying to track down other persons involved in the crime. –0—
