Switzerland: First indictment for worldwide "phishing
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has filed the indictment against three alleged perpetrators: The trio specialized in the commercial fraudulent misuse of credit card data. This is the first time that a worldwide "phishing" case has been brought to trial in Switzerland.
The three defendants in this cybercrime criminal case are charged with commercial fraudulent misuse of a data processing system (Art. 147 para. 1 and para. 2 SCC) and multiple attempts to fraudulently misuse a data processing system (Art. 147 para. 1 in conjunction with Art. 22 para. 1 SCC).
133 600 Credit card data obtained
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland accuses the trio of unlawfully obtaining at least 133,600 credit card details worldwide. The defendants were active from October 2009 until their arrests in 2014 and 2015, respectively. They obtained the data through "phishing" attacks using fake emails, websites and short messages, the federal prosecutor's office writes. It added: "Since October 2008, the group of perpetrators has earned its living by illegally obtaining credit card data and misusing it via the Internet."
The criminal proceedings can be described as a pilot case in that this is the first time that charges have been filed in Switzerland against suspected perpetrators who are active worldwide and who have not physically been in Switzerland, as the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland further emphasizes. Credit card holders worldwide and local financial institutions are affected. The three suspects were arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, and extradited to Switzerland.
According to the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, the indictment will be filed in summary proceedings pursuant to Article 360 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in conjunction with Article 325 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The defendants have admitted to the charges, according to the media release. All three defendants are serving early sentences.
