The Judiciary Police (PJ), through its National Unit to Combat Cybercrime and Technological Crime (UNC3T), detained two men, aged 22 and 30, suspected of being part of a transnational criminal group, focused on committing economic and sophisticated financial institutions. Among the crimes under investigation are document forgery, computer scams and money laundering, carried out through a scheme known as “CEO Fraud”.
This type of scam, which consists of deceiving company employees into believing they are receiving orders from executives or trusted partners, allowed the group to embezzle around 1.2 million euros. The victims were, for the most part, foreign companies, located in Canada and Italy, whose bank accounts were used as a source of funds diverted to accounts in Portugal.
According to the PJ, the operation involved the creation of bank accounts in the national territory, specifically to receive the illicit money, which was immediately redistributed to other accounts that were difficult to trace. “CEO Fraud campaigns are essentially characterized by sending emails or text messages […] in which a malicious actor, posing as an entity related to the target organization […] makes requests typically of a financial nature”, explains the police force.
The two detainees, identified as active members of a network with international links, will now be brought to court, where coercive measures will be determined. These developments are part of the authorities’ growing effort to dismantle cybercrime networks that, taking advantage of the digitalization of business processes, launch financial attacks that impact several economies.
With this arrest, the company reiterates its commitment to the fight against cybercrime and highlights the importance of reinforced precautions on the part of companies.
Also read:
