CYBERCRIME INVESTIGATION
Have you been a victim of fraud? Has your information or money been stolen?
Has your Instagram or Facebook profile been hacked?
No need to worry. There is a solution for the majority of these issues!
Why do I need protection against online fraud?
In recent years, our lives have revolved around our email accounts (Gmail, Hotmail, Apple, etc.) and Social Media, and prosecuting Cybercrime has become a particularly difficult task for public authorities due to the large volume.
We all have usernames and passwords for many electronic services, including public services such as Taxisnet.
All of these accounts constitute our digital identity.
That is, we identify ourselves electronically to gain certain digital privileges or to make our lives easier.
Unfortunately, more and more people fall victim to electronic fraud or online scams because they lack knowledge about cybersecurity in Greece.
Page Contents
- What can I do if I’m a victim of online fraud or a cybercrime?
- How can we help you in case of Cybercrime?
- Digital Identity Theft
- How dangerous is it to have our Gmail/Apple account hacked?
- Cybercrime cases
Cybercrime Prosecution VS TicTac
ATTENTION: We would like to clarify that our company and its Cyber Security department are part of a private cybercrime investigation firm and are not affiliated with the Cybercrime Prosecution Sub-Directorate, which is a public service and an independent body of the Greek Police that offers free services to citizens.
TicTac Cyber Security provides chargeable services, as it has specialized IT engineers, cybersecurity experts, analysts, and lawyers who specialize in cybercrime matters.
If you’d like to be served by the special police department for free, click here.
Examples of electronic fraud we encounter every day
- Forex Scams / Investment Fraud
- Cryptocurrency Scam / Cryptocurrency Theft
- Money was stolen from a bank account
- Malicious mobile/computer surveillance
- Social Media Account Hacking
- Instagram account was hacked. What should I do?
- Facebook account was hacked
- Gmail account was hacked
- Yahoo account was hacked
- Cyber extortion
- Internet blackmail
- Phishing Emails
- Telephone Scam with a Microsoft technician
- Computer file encryption (Ransomware)
All of the above fall into the general category of Phishing, in which an unknown person impersonates someone to access our personal information or leads us to click on a malicious link that allows them to compromise our accounts or fraudulently guide us into depositing money.
The above electronic scams can financially impoverish victims.
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What can I do if I’ve been a victim of online fraud or a cybercrime?
To date, in Greece, we estimate that victims of these frauds have lost over € 500 million.
The first action that the victim of electronic fraud should take is to make a statement to the Directorate for the Prosecution of Electronic Crime through a local police station.
Our clients have reported that the Police cannot usually provide substantial and immediate assistance to victims of cybercrime beyond recording and counseling, as a cybercrime investigation requires many hours of work, and the volume of cases is much greater than their service rate.εξυπηρέτησης τους.
So, depending on the seriousness of the case, a Public Service gives priority and provides some free counseling. This happens in every country. The Prosecution of Electronic Crime, in addition to recording the incident, finds it very difficult to conduct an adequate investigation immediately for each victim of electronic fraud. The investigation is based on a specific hierarchy for each case, depending on its seriousness and any extensions it may have.
The exceptional scientists in the Police specializing in Cybercrime do not have time to deal with all the cases they receive and focus on specific sectors based on the prosecutor’s orders.
However, an electronic scam has terrible consequences for the victims.
There is often a significant loss of money, as well as psychological and social pressure. There is no shortage of cases where the victims are in complete despair and helplessness.
A frequent tactic of criminals is to threaten their victims that their personal information will be leaked on social networks (Facebook, Instagram, etc.), resulting in creating psychological deadlock situations for their victims.
At this point, the TicTac Cyber Security team, a private company, comes in from the private sector to help those who can cover the cost of assisting the victims.
But we have no authority to enforce the law and make arrests.
Our company’s tools are consulting, limiting the extent of the incident, prevention, and research.
Together with our legal department, we aim to provide authorities with sufficient electronic evidence to expedite some procedures.
Our weapon is always the Prosecution of Cybercrime, that is, helping those authorized to enforce the law.
TicTac can conduct electronic evidence research promptly and with priority.
Many times, victims of electronic fraud ask, ” Can’t the state do something to protect us from all this?”
The answer is no, as the volume of cybercriminals is so large that it is impossible to take action against everyone.
Electronic services were introduced suddenly and became a part of our lives due to the times and circumstances, aiming to make things easier, faster, and to simplify everyday tasks.
However, older people, in particular, are very vulnerable to scams involving technology.
We should all read and be informed, or seek help from experts if we don’t know something.
How can the TicTac team help me in case of Cybercrime?
Our company, witnessing daily victims of electronic fraud left at a dead end and unable to find solutions to their problems, while also handling many electronic investigation cases, created a special department that investigates and counsels victims of electronic fraud and cybercrime.
Our team consists of:
- Experienced cybersecurity engineers
- Cybercrime Legal Advisors
- IT engineers specializing in electronic fraud
- certified electronic evidence analysts
Since 1999, we have investigated countless cases and appeared in courtrooms with forensic expertise to support or convict victims of cybercrime.
If you have been a victim of electronic fraud, call us immediately and follow the steps below:
- Scheduling a 1-hour session appointment to collect history and initial advice (appointments range from 150-350 euros + VAT)
- Issuance of a financial offer (the cost is determined by the purpose of the research and the working hours, and usually starts at 800 euros + VAT)
- Launch of the investigation of the involved entities
- Limiting the damage (if possible)
- Consulting on the security of your accounts and recovery (if possible) of the problem
At this point, we must clarify that in our country, the private sector is not authorized to make arrests or search for criminals, as these responsibilities are only held by the Cybercrime Sub-Directorate of our country (i.e., the Police) or, if the crime was committed in another country, by Interpol or other state authorities.
But what does a TicTac Cyber Security client gain with our services?
- Immediacy in the first steps and consulting
- Personal engagement of our engineers
- Immediacy in the investigation, identification, and preservation of electronic evidence (Digital Forensics)
- Short-term limitation of the extent of the damage (where possible)
- Properly delivering findings to the Cybercrime Directorate to expedite procedures
Digital Identity Theft
Nowadays, digital identity theft and online fraud are becoming increasingly serious. Our company receives daily reports of money loss, fraud by foreign companies, or even incidents where our accounts have been hacked by friends or people we trust.
Some of the examples related to digital identity theft are:
- I don’t have access to my Gmail account.
- Someone is using my Gmail passwords
- My Apple ID was stolen.
- I realized someone had hacked me.
- My Instagram account was stolen.
- I don’t have access to my Facebook account.
- My credit/debit card was charged.
- I have been a victim of Forex fraud by a foreign company
- I have been the victim of a telephone scam, and my money was stolen.
- Someone is monitoring my Gmail account or my phone
But have you considered what could happen if someone intercepts this information and steals your digital identity?
How dangerous is it to have our Gmail/Apple account hacked?
What can happen when someone can access your email account (Gmail, Hotmail)?
Assuming that somehow an unknown person gains access to your Gmail account, they can do the following:
- Contact your acquaintances, friends, or colleagues and send them a file that will allow them to delete the files on their computer.
- Try to damage your reputation or customer base by sending spam to expose you
- Delete photos or emails that you have
- Access your personal information and request a password reset
- Erase data on all our Android devices and disconnect your accounts via the Google console
What can happen if our Apple account is hacked?
If someone intercepts our digital identity code at Apple, in addition to what we mentioned above, they can delete your data in iCloud or even permanently erase it from any Apple device (e.g., iPhone, MacBook, iMac, etc.).
You should be aware that there are daily attempts to hijack ordinary people’s accounts, either to blackmail or harm them.
Examples of account hijacking and electronic fraud
We will begin by mentioning some of the online scams and risks that the average electronic device user faces today, and their impact on their personal lives.
The following cases are examples of the types our company investigates to help victims.
Forex Scam and Foreign Trading Company
The scam often begins with a simple phone call, encouraging you to deposit around 250 euros with the promise of multiplying your money through investment advisors based abroad.
Usually, after the first deposit, they have daily contact with the victims, using programs to remotely control our computers and guide us in our investment moves.
Communication is mainly done by phone from foreign phone numbers (via call centers), and they soon initiate personal contact via WhatsApp, Telegram, or Viber.
Their goal is to gain the victim’s trust, often by showing interest in the victim’s problems and recording everything their victims tell them about their lives.
Then, once trust is built, they show the victim that within a few weeks, through their platform, the money has almost doubled or tripled, and ask the victim for an even larger deposit of 1000-5000 euros.
In the second phase, they will give the victim a trading platform, guide him daily, and tell him the moves they make to generate profit. We would like to clarify here that the entire platform that the victim sees is fake, and there are no profits at all.
The scammer’s goal is to get more and more money from the victim, and when the victim tries to withdraw their capital or profits, they are told that a 20% tax has been incurred to get their money.
Of course, even with the tax payment, the victim never gets his money.
TicTac collects electronic evidence and, with the help of specialized lawyers specializing in electronic crime, assists in arresting the perpetrators and recovering the money.
In these cases, we begin with a preliminary investigation into the foreign forex company and a consultation session with a specialized TicTac investigator to determine whether the necessary electronic means are in place to take legal action.
Contact us immediately if you’ve fallen victim to a Forex Scam, so we can help you take the proper steps.
Fraud with a large inheritance and will
This scam is the oldest in circulation, and the scammers change it slightly each year to attract new victims.
The scenario is as follows:
A stranger sends you an email and tells you that he or another person is about to die or has already passed and wants help from someone to claim a huge inheritance.
After several discussions, he convinces you to accept the offer and, if you help him, receive a large share of the inheritance.
This person could be either the one who will die soon or, for example, a notary.
However, the scam ends when you talk to the notary, who, while preparing your documents, asks for IDs, passports, proof of your bank account, and other supporting documents to convince you that the process is entirely legal.
In this process, you will also see several plausible documents.
So, once the transfer and legal documents are ready, the notary asks you to cover the costs related to the will, starting with a small amount, then requesting more for various so-called “formalities.”
But in the victim’s mind, one thought takes over: “Compared to the 300,000 euros I’m about to inherit, what’s 300 or even 3,000 euros?”
The scam lies in the fact that the so-called notary never stops asking for money, because he isn’t a notary at all, but a fraudster trying to extract as much as possible from the victim.
Recently, a woman came to our company after trying to claim an inheritance of around 500,000 euros. She had already lost 70,000 euros in so-called notary fees before contacting TicTac’s cybercrime investigators, who uncovered electronic evidence and initiated legal proceedings.
In some cases, we can help you claim some of the money you lost immediately, as long as the deposits are recent.
Please note that the above scenario, because it has existed for many years, is now often shared via Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp messages.
Suddenly, a stranger finds you. He speaks Greek, but you never see him on camera or talk to him on the phone (so as not to leave evidence that he is someone from another country who uses Google Translate). This stranger may pretend to be from the village you come from and may mention people he knows to build a relationship with you.
Then he tells you that something happened to him, and the doctors have given him a few weeks to live, and he is looking for somewhere to leave his property as he has no heirs. Of course, you will never see him in person, but he will send you photos to convince you of his condition. Usually, they pretend to be intubated.
He will then refer you to his notary and be happy for you to inherit their property.
Then, what follows is the classic Nigerian scam.
Contact us immediately if you have been a victim of a similar scam.
Ransomware file-locking software and an attack on your digital life
Broken programs downloaded from the Internet can cause a lot of damage. These programs may contain a virus that locks all your files and demands a ransom.
We have written in detail here about Ransomware and how to protect yourself.
However, many ransomware attacks include a new element: the interception of passwords from everywhere.
That is, by executing the malicious software, a third party gains access to the following:
- Gmail
- Hotmail
- Yahoo
- Amazon
- Alexa
- Google Home
- Bank Accounts
Recently, at TicTac, our engineers took on a case where the victim, after his files were locked, had his Facebook account locked as well. After a few days, he heard voices from Alexa in his house. The smart lamps in his house were blinking at irregular times, and the electronic lock (Smart Lock) he had installed was unlocking and locking itself. It was truly as if the house had ghosts.
We detected malicious access to all of his accounts and blocked the hacker.
Contact us immediately if you have fallen victim to Ransomware.
Car and furniture classified ads scam
In this scam, victims are approached when they post ads on well-known sites selling cars, computers, or furniture.
The perpetrator calls as a prospective buyer and informs the victim that he wants to deposit a down payment on the item for sale through a bank, but not in a conventional way, but by using a different service, such as Money in an Instant.
Usually, the conversation is pressured, and the perpetrator tries to show that he will not make a statement unless the victim follows his instructions.
The perpetrator contacts the victim on the phone to ask for money or the victim’s bank account information.
This scam mainly targets older victims.
TicTac works with the fraud victim to return their money.
This is preceded by a session with a specialized TicTac investigator to determine whether the money can be recovered.
Contact us immediately if you have been a victim of ad fraud.
Telephone fraud with Web Banking password theft
This scam begins with random anonymous phone calls to business owners. The perpetrators communicate with multiple phone calls and different people for days in order to gradually extract personal details of the owner, such as address, telephone numbers, tax ID number, etc., from the business staff.
The purpose of the phone calls is to gather enough information to request that the bank reset the Web Banking password by communicating with the bank’s customer support over the phone.
The last step is to call the company owner himself, pretending to be from the bank’s Customer Support, and report that there has been an attempt to breach their account. So, they ask the victim (as representatives of the bank) for the extra PIN that will be sent to their mobile phone, but also tell them not to use or deactivate their phone for a while.
In practice, they have already requested a security code reset from the bank with the information they know. With the extra PIN, which the victim voluntarily gives, they reset their code and have complete control over their bank account. They initiate transfers to third-party accounts, draining the victim’s account.
Contact us immediately if you’ve been a victim of web banking fraud, so we can secure your accounts and inform you of the actions you need to take.
Telephone scam with a technician from Microsoft/Apple and other major companies
In this scenario, repeated calls are made to victims (mainly elderly) under the pretext that Microsoft or any other well-known company has determined that their account has been hacked and that it is attacking other accounts and creating a problem that will cause them legal consequences.
When the victim gives in, they will request access to both the victim’s
computer to perform a standard check, and their mobile phone through remote support programs.
They will spend a lot of time showing that they check the computer for viruses and malware.
They will also ask the victim to check their bank accounts because they have detected strange movements.
Finally, they will also ask to have access to the mobile phone.
They can move funds from the victim by having access to all of this.
Contact us immediately if you have been a victim of fraud by a fake Microsoft or other company technician.
My Instagram account was hacked (Instagram Account Hacking)
In recent years we have had too many customer cases where the Instagram account has been hacked.
Whether by accessing one of your devices, by someone knowing your security code (which you may use frequently), or by using the Phishing method where you simply clicked on a malicious link from a personal message you received from an unknown or known person, it is relatively easy for someone to gain access to your Instagram account.
Once this is done, the malicious person usually starts publishing content that you have not approved.
It also changes your phone and email, so you can’t easily recover your account.
There, someone can use it to slander you and expose you to your social circle, demanding a ransom to stop, or they can use your account to infect even more people, sending malicious links to friends and acquaintances.
The social pressure that victims experience is very great.
What affects the cost of the Instagram account recovery service?
- Whether the client has a computer and has accessed Instagram from it
- The number of Instagram accounts the client has (or had) at any time
- The email address linked to the account and whether the client has full access to it
- Whether the same password was used for both Instagram and the email account
- Whether the client remembers both the email and Instagram passwords
- If the mobile phone was linked to the Instagram account
- Whether the client still has access to that mobile phone
- Whether the client regularly receives emails in their linked email account
The above factors greatly influence whether we need two or more work hours on the case. Charges start at 200 euros + VAT.
Call us now if you have been the victim of an Instagram account breach so we can take immediate action and secure your remaining accounts!
If you don’t want to fall victim to this scam, try the Digimune.gr service.
Facebook Account Hacking
Because Facebook is also used by people who do not know how to use the internet with Cybersecurity in mind, we have many cases of Facebook account hacking.
Whether by accessing one of your devices, by someone knowing your security code (which you may use frequently), or by using the Phishing method where you simply click on a malicious link from a personal message you received from an unknown or known person, it is relatively easy for someone to gain access to your Instagram account.
Once the hacker gains access to your account, he will start blackmailing you, trying to infect other victims with your Facebook profile, or posting promotional messages for investment scams and similar malicious websites.
It is also very likely that it will ask you for a ransom to recover your account.
It also changes your phone and email, so you can’t easily recover your account.
The social pressure that victims experience is very great.
Call us now if you have been the victim of a Facebook account breach so we can take immediate action and secure your remaining accounts.
If you don’t want to fall victim to this scam, try the Digimune.gr service.
Cyber-Blackmail for photos or videos with sensitive content (Sextortion)
In this scam, the victim knows a person who approaches them through a dating site, WhatsApp, or a Social Media Account.
She tries to approach him romantically by sending him photos and compliments.
He will learn as much information as possible about his victim and will take the time to create a climate of trust.
After some time, he will ask to make video calls with the victim for erotic purposes, and the purpose is first to send them erotic material (photos and videos) so that the victim reciprocates and turns on their camera.
When the victim shows photos or videos of sensitive areas of their body, the scammer ends the conversation and tells the victim that they have their pictures or video and know their friends on Social Media.
Thus begins financial blackmail, which is the first step in psychological pressure.
Call us now if you have been a victim of sextortion so we can take immediate action.
In cases we have taken on, we have a 90% success rate in closing the case without social repercussions for the victim.
