Moldova: Vishing scammer jailed five years for 87k lei fraud
A resident of Moldova's capital, Chișinău, has lost 87,000 lei (around £3,800) from her bank card after strangers fraudulently obtained her access password.
One of the perpetrators, a young man from the northern city of Bălți, has been sentenced to five years in prison.
The incident occurred on April 25, after members of an organized criminal group contacted the woman by phone, in a scam known as 'vishing'.
According to the Moldovan Prosecutor General's Office, the woman was tricked into believing unauthorized transactions had been registered on her account, convincing the victim to disclose her sensitive bank details.
Following the group's instructions, a young man from Bălți, acting on orders received via Telegram, went to an ATM and withdrew 8,000 lei.
On the same day, using the fraudulently obtained bank details, he carried out illegal commercial operations at an electronics store, purchasing three latest-generation mobile phones with a total value of 79,296 lei.
The young man was identified and convicted. He was sentenced to five years in prison for swindling and will serve his sentence in a semi-open correctional facility. Additionally, the court ordered the confiscation of the fraudulently obtained goods. The identity of the other individuals involved is still being established.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
