Ukraine’s security service SBU said Monday it had arrested four people for allegedly creating fake payment cards with stolen information in an operation estimated to have caused US$20 million in damages.
The SBU said raids conducted earlier this month yielded 1,000 plastic cards and more than 100,000 financial records used to make the cards, according to a translation of a news release.
An official contacted at the SBU was unable to immediately give further information. The SBU said it worked with U.S. law enforcement on the operation. A U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman said on Monday that the bureau did not have information on the arrests.
The FBI has stationed a supervisory special agent at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev since October 2009 with the Office of the Legal Attaché. According to the U.S. Embassy in the Ukraine, “cybercrimes originating from Ukraine and targeting U.S. companies and individuals represent a significant criminal threat and financial loss.”
In June, the SBU said it helped the FBI and other law enforcement organizations disrupt a cybercrime ring that cost the banking industry more than $72 million using Conficker, a fast-spreading worm unleashed in 2008.
The SBU said it had interviewed 16 people as part of an international law enforcement investigation into fake antivirus software and online banking fraud. Those interviewed indicated they allegedly used the Conficker worm to spread antivirus software.
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