Card sharps
Carders are just as much thieves as pickpockets or burglars. The only difference is that their working tool is not a crowbar, but a computer connected to the Internet, and they steal not from their pockets and homes, but from bank accounts. However, those who believe that it is easy for criminals to get lost on the World Wide Web are mistaken. On the contrary, any action on the Internet leaves clear virtual traces. You just need to find them.The idol of rich Muscovites
Mogilev resident Vadim Kolbasov came to the attention of employees of the Department for combating Crimes in the field of high technologies during the investigation of the case of his countryman, a certain Mr. Belyavsky. He put on stream the sale of expensive branded handbags and clothing at discounted prices. In online stores, he paid with funds from other people's cards-accounts, the details of which he purchased from hackers. One of those who provided such information was Kolbasov. And, as it turned out, not only to him. Caught by the employees of the GSU of the Investigative Committee, Vadim was afraid and told about the activities of a real transnational criminal group.
Evil computer genius
Evgeny Pechkurenko started criminal activity when he was only twenty years old. We must pay tribute to the guy: he came up with a scheme that worked smoothly for years, bringing profits in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Pechkurenko bought hundreds of bank card details from Kolbasov and others like him. Moreover, he was interested in card accounts exclusively for foreigners who used the services of the Mastercard, Visa, and American Express payment systems. First, Eugene followed the first commandment of wolves and criminals, which calls not to shit where you live.
Having gained access to other people's accounts, Evgeny and his accomplices paid for various items ordered from online stores. At first it was just small things-sneakers, T-shirts, auto parts, ski equipment. Foreign parcels, as a rule, came in the name of figureheads. Having generously gifted themselves, relatives and friends, the carders began to trade the received goods. From April to October 2009, Evgeny stole more than five and a half thousand dollars from at least 14 bank payment cards. However, these were still flowers. Berries ripened when, having gained experience, Pechkurenko, in conjunction with Richard Solodky and Kolbasov, organized a criminal group that was engaged in clothing carding.
Whet your appetite
Now, wholesale shipments of various goods worth tens of thousands of dollars were ordered in American online stores. The scale of activity is eloquently evidenced by the fact that carders themselves were not able to complete all orders and hired "drive — ins" for this purpose-people who filled out the necessary electronic documents for a fee.
Sometimes, in retail outlets or banks, there were questions. The order was not executed, and a message was sent to the carder's email address specified in it that it failed "for technical reasons". To remove suspicion, there was a whole staff of "ringers" - immigrants from the countries of the former USSR, who were well-versed in English. These were men and women, adults, elderly and young — they were selected depending on the gender and age of the cardholder. The fake Billy Jones called the bank, easily answered the standard operator questions like "mother's maiden name" or "code word", because he knew all the information provided by the cardholder to the bank, and confirmed the order.
Drop couriers were sent for parcels, who did not know what was in the boxes and boxes, and only provided their services for temporary use for a couple of dollars. After a few hands, the goods either got to trusted people who put them up for auction on ebay, or were sent to Russia, much less often to Belarus. There were loopholes that made it possible to significantly reduce the cost of international shipments.
Cypriots from the Smolensk region
Goods are goods, and Evgeny and his accomplices needed real money. This is where Richard Solodky's "earth" contacts came in handy. By occupation — meat trade-he regularly visited Smolensk, knew its surroundings and could pick up a couple of drinkers in the nearest villages. Dressed up, trimmed, and shaven, the Smolensk villagers traveled in batches with Richard to Moscow, from where they returned with a brand-new passport and their own company, say, in Cyprus. The new-found merchants did not have any benefits, except for a thousand rubles of fee. Meanwhile, the money received from the sale of goods in different countries was transferred to the accounts of Cypriot companies. Between them, transfers were made that mimicked business activities and confused the traces, and the money, in the end, ended up in card accounts controlled by Evgeny and his accomplices.
Duffel carding allowed children who had never really worked to live on a grand scale. They bought apartments and land plots, changed expensive cars as usual, surrounded themselves with luxury goods and beautiful women. All the more bitter was the exposure…
The bitterness of defeat
Richard Solodky and Evgeny Pechkurenko were charged with embezzlement through the use of computer equipment, unauthorized access to computer information and illegal possession of it. The investigation managed to prove at least 540 episodes of embezzlement of property worth more than 237 thousand dollars. However, experts believe that this is only the tip of the iceberg, and in fact the damage caused to foreigners, banks and payment systems can be much greater. Evgeny was sentenced to 11 and a half years in prison, Richard-to 9 years.
As for Vadim Kolbasov, he disappeared.
- Kolbasov gave all the information about the crimes committed by him in the group with Pechkurenko and Solodkiy. Given the fact that the guy actively cooperated with the investigation and tried to compensate for the damage, he was not taken into custody. Relatives and friends of the accomplices began to put pressure on Vadim, accusing their relatives of arrest. And he disappeared, faking suicide, and in the "suicide note" he wrote that he had slandered his friends. However, this "confession" did not outweigh numerous evidence and did not prevent the case from being brought to trial, " said Olena Shumeyko, Senior Assistant Prosecutor of the Mogilev region.
The criminal case against him has been separated into separate proceedings and is waiting for Vadim. However, the court will definitely take into account his confession and remorse, assistance to the investigation and compensation for the damage caused, as well as the fact that he did not run away of his own free will. So Kolbasov can count on a significant commutation of the sentence.
(c) https://www.sb.by/articles/kartochnye-shulera.html
