Odesa law enforcement exposes group of hackers for attacks on US platforms

In Odesa, law enforcement officers exposed a group of hackers suspected of large-scale attacks on American online platforms. According to the investigation, the attackers gained access to the accounts of US users and used their payment data to make purchases for others.

This was reported by the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office.

In Odesa, cyber police and National Police investigators, together with prosecutors from the Prosecutor General's Office, exposed alleged members of an international hacker group that, according to the investigation, acted against American online trading services.

The investigation was launched following a request from U.S. law enforcement agencies that reported possible hacking activities from Ukraine. According to the US side, cybercriminals could have attacked users of online shopping platforms.

On May 12, law enforcement officers conducted searches in Odesa at the residences of the defendants in the case. During the investigation, they seized computers, laptops and mobile phones.

The investigation believes that the group members used malware to gain unauthorized access to users' devices. The obtained logins, passwords and other account data were transferred to specially controlled servers.

Later, this information was used to log in to US citizens' accounts on international trading platforms. The fake profiles were used to make purchases and make payments using the victims' bank cards.

The users may not have even realized that their accounts and financial data were being used by third parties.

Law enforcement officers are also investigating possible fraud with the refund mechanism. According to preliminary estimates, the losses of the American online platforms exceed USD 250 thousand.

The seized equipment is currently being analyzed, and all possible participants in the scheme and other episodes of alleged cybercrime are being identified.

In April, a cryptocurrency fraud scheme was exposed in Odesa, which brought tens of thousands of dollars to the organizers every month. Under the guise of "profitable investments," the scammers lured access to wallets and instantly withdrew all funds.

Анна Бальчінос