Sexy Swindler or Hot Hacker
Would She Cost You More Than Just A Few Drinks?
Picture this, you are out with the boys and having a whale of a time in a bar in Manhattan – when your eye’s get tangled up with a 5ft 6inch brunette standing across the room, and you offer to buy her a drink thinking she is just being a little flirtatious.
You talk for a while, exchange contact details and wait to see who makes the next move.
The following day you get an email from her asking to meet again, but what you don’t know is that attached to the email is a virus which is taking your passwords and login details for any of your bank accounts, credit cards and other financial online services.
Well, that is just one of the tricks used by a group of eastern European girls who were set up by a gang of ‘internet fraudsters’ – to gain access to account information so they could drain you of any finance you ever had.
Kristina Svechinskaya, a 21 year old student from Russia was one of those ‘temptresses’ who would catch you out, and suck you dry.
Not only did she work for the eastern European gang to swindle unsuspecting prey, but she also opened accounts with different banks in a multitude of names so that she could retain around 10% of whatever was taken from the heist as her reward.
Svechinskaya was arrested earlier this month in New York – along with another 37 people who were part of the gang. She will appear in court tomorrow charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and the false use of a passport.
The estimated ‘internet heist’ was calculated at nearly £2 million, with Svechinskaya allegedly making around $45,000 for her part.
Preet Bharara, who is a US Attorney based in Manhattan said: “The modern, hi-tech bank heist does not require a gun, a mask, a note, or a getaway car. It requires only the internet and ingenuity and can be accomplished in the blink of an eye, with just a click of the mouse.”
