Police nab a ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ for the era of data transfer

A couple aged, 31 and 29, were arrested and brought before the Limassol district court on Saturday for fraudulently appropriating money and data from a wire-transfer branch.

According to a police report, the two suspects had visited the branch in Limassol on Friday, claiming to want to make a wire-transfer to another individual back in Romania, but said they could not remember the recipient’s address. Under this pretext, they asked the branch manager to allow them to insert a memory stick into his computer so they could retrieve the information.

But instead, they appear to have transferred company data onto the memory stick, and left the branch saying they had been unable to find the address required for the money transfer.

Later on Friday, the branch manager tried to log into the company system but found he couldn’t.

He was then notified by his company’s Nicosia branch that over the previous night an unauthorised wire-transfer had been made for €5,500, while a second transfer for €3,080 had been cancelled.

The duo seems to have visited the company’s Nicosia branch before striking in Limassol, operating in the same way.

Police brought the two suspects for questioning on Friday. They said they had been acting for a third individual, who has yet to be found.

They are facing charges of conspiracy to commit a felony, theft by deception, and obtaining money under false pretences. They were remanded for five days.

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