Suspect arrested over using phishing sites to scam users of internet

[steven36]

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Police authorities in Taipei arrested a suspect last week on charges of setting up phishing websites that have allegedly stolen users' confidential information, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB, 刑事局) has announced.

 

 

The male suspect, surnamed Liao, was arrested on May 11 for setting up two phishing websites which he allegedly used to steal confidential personal information that he later used to scam money from victims, the CIB said.

 

According to investigators, Liao has set up two such websites since this January.

 

The websites ostensibly sold pre-paid game cards for online games, but were actually used to steal users' credit card numbers.

 

After customers bought pre-paid game cards from the websites, Liao would send them a notice claiming that the transactions had failed, asking victims to provide more detailed information to complete the transactions, CIB said.

 

He then used the information to buy pre-paid game cards from other online shopping sites before reselling them for profit.

 

The complicated scheme allowed the suspect to scam over NT$700,000 from at least 15 victims, CIB said.

 

Upon arrest, Liao admitted to investigators that he committed the crime. Police subsequently closed his websites to prevent more people from falling victim to such a scheme.

 

The CIB warned the public to be very careful, urging people who wish to buy pre-paid game cards to make purchases through certified websites or legitimate sellers only.

 

It also urged those with related questions to call the National Police Agency's 165 hotline to report similar phishing sites.

 

The Source