The fraudulent scheme that journalist Oksana Torop previously encountered has also affected other Ukrainians — we are talking about hundreds of cases. What they all have in common is that the stolen money was withdrawn through the famous game developer Blizzard.
The fraudulent scheme that journalist Oksana Torop previously encountered has also affected other Ukrainians — we are talking about hundreds of cases. What they all have in common is that the stolen money was withdrawn through the famous game developer Blizzard.
Earlier, Ukrainian journalist Oksana Torop, who worked for BBC News Ukrainian, told how she conducted her own small investigation into stolen bank card funds. It led her to the «American gaming giant,» which went to meet and punish the attackers.
«A few days after the post about bank fraud, I received about a hundred messages with similar cases, many of them through the same company — video game developer Blizzard,» Torop told Forbes Ukraine.
The scheme also affected the owner of the company «Textile-Contact» Oleksandr Sokolovsky. «All transactions were in favor of Blizzard (a well-known international video game developer). I never paid them for anything, and I never gave my card details and passwords to anyone,» he wrote .
This is probably about replenishing the wallets of accounts on Battle.net, a digital platform like Steam, which Blizzard created in 1996.
Sokolovsky immediately contacted the cyber police and the bank, after which his card was blocked. «After 20 minutes, 10 zero transactions and 10 write-offs of UAH 299 each occurred again, but they were canceled by the bank due to the card being blocked,» the entrepreneur said in his post.
The fraudsters first tested the card with zero payments, and then made a series of chargebacks, explained Yevgeny Balutov, Director of Information Security at Raiffeisen Bank.
The Torop and Sokolovsky cases are connected, says Oleksandr Ulyanenkov, head of the online fraud countermeasures department of the Cyber Police Department. «Fraudsters top up gaming accounts with small amounts within the established limits, and the bank may not immediately identify them as suspicious,» he says. In both cases, the funds were returned.
According to Balyutov, the fraudsters likely obtained the card data through a leak or hack of third-party databases. He says it is impossible to establish whether the cases are related, as such schemes are often used by different groups.
The Cyber Police say they have received similar complaints from citizens, but they do not show signs of being widespread, he added. The press service of Sense Bank reported on isolated complaints, while Raiffeisen did not record any complaints at all.
To protect your funds, the Cyber Police advises setting limits for online purchases. In case of illegal activity on the account, the card must be blocked immediately, via the hotline, mobile application or in person at the branch. After blocking, it is necessary to apply for a chargeback procedure — a refund of funds withdrawn by fraudsters.
