Hackers used phishing to access users' accounts
At least 14 users were victims of theft of funds in bitcoins
Eleven people were arrested by Turkish police authorities on charges of pirating the cryptocurrency wallets of a user group. The hackers stole bitcoins valued at 437,000 Turkish lira, equivalent to 80,000 US dollars.
According to information released on Nov. 2 by local media Hürriyet, the police operation was led by the CyberCrime Division based in Istanbul. The police force initiated the investigations after receiving complaints from fourteen users, who reported illegal access to their wallets of cryptocurrencies, as well as the theft of funds.
The investigators were able to trace a telephone number used by the hackers on a platform where they carried out the exchanges. The hackers acquired new GSM lines and registered them on behalf of the victims using fake driver's licenses. Then, using a known phishing method, they entered the system and transferred the funds to multiple accounts to make it difficult to track.
The bitcoin amount stolen from the cryptocurrency wallets was later exchanged for fiat currency. The police were able to physically track the suspects and obtain evidence of cash withdrawals from their bank accounts and ATMs. The movements were recorded on video by security cameras.
The arrests were made through simultaneous operations at different locations in the city of Istanbul on October 26. In addition to the eleven arrests, police seized 18 mobile phones, 18 SIM cards, 22 flash drives, 6 laptop computers, 3 hard drives, 2 fake driver's licenses, fake identity cards and a tablet.
Ten of the eleven detainees remain in prison awaiting trial, while one was released under the condition of remaining under "judicial control. According to the publication, the investigation is still ongoing and authorities are looking for more victims of hackers.
THE RISE OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES IN TURKEY
In Turkey the use of bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies has been boosted so far this year by the fall of the local currency, the lira, against the U.S. dollar. Specialized media reported in August that the Turks began to take refuge in bitcoin, since the value of the lira became even more volatile than that of this cryptoactive.
However, the popularity of cryptocurrencies has also given rise to fraudulent schemes. Earlier this year it became known that the Turcoin project, a cryptoactive launched as an alternative to Turkey's national currency, was actually a Ponzi scheme. Last July, the founders of the startup, Sadun Kaya and Muhammed Satıroğlu, were arrested by the police as part of the investigation. Allegedly, millions of dollars were stolen from users through this scheme.