They were defrauding shopkeepers to play illegal gambling…
A criminal case against two Greeks was filed by the Electronic Crime Prosecution Division on charges of fraud and illegal gambling via the Internet.
The two Greeks are accused of defrauding at least twenty-two owners of shops and businesses that issue prepaid cards in various regions of Greece.
The Electronic Crime Prosecution Division filed a regular procedure case against two Greeks (a man and a woman), aged 41 and 52 years old respectively, for fraud by complicity, by profession and by continuation and violation of the legislation on gambling.
Specifically, in the context of investigating cases of fraud and illegal betting via the internet and from the preliminary investigation carried out by the Cybercrime Prosecution Directorate, a total of twenty-two cases were investigated, following complaints from store owners and businesses in various areas of Greece (Athens, Piraeus, Thessaloniki, Patras, Heraklion, Veria, Kavala, Rhodes, Samothrace, Mytilene, Corinth, Serres), which issued prepaid cards.
The well-organized scheme
In more detail, regarding their mode of action, it emerged that the perpetrators jointly, during the period from August 2013 to last May, with the aim of obtaining an illegal financial benefit, communicated by telephone with owners of various stores and businesses (convenience stores, mini markets, kiosks, etc.) in various regions of Greece and falsely stated that they were technicians of the company that had installed prepaid card issuing machines.
Then, under the pretext of checking the proper operation of the machines, they asked the shopkeepers to issue prepaid cards of various amounts of money, as well as the card code, while these would then be canceled.
From their communication with the real management company, the owners discovered that they had been deceived, since the above cards had never been canceled.
From the methodical and multi-month police and digital investigation, it emerged that the prepaid cards were used - cashed in for betting on online gambling websites, while the action and the details of the two Greek citizens were identified.
In addition, the participation of the above perpetrators in other similar acts is being investigated, in order to precisely determine the extent of the fraud, as well as their possible involvement in other related offenses.
The case file that was formed will be submitted to the competent Prosecution Authority.
Source: nonews-news.blogspot.gr
