In Belém, man arrested for involvement in fake boleto scam
'Operation Last Boleto' investigated a crime that caused a loss of R$ 54 thousand for a company in the municipality of Rio Verde, Goiás (GO)
The Civil Police of Pará launched "Operation Last Boleto" on Wednesday (22) to investigate a scheme of electronic frauds committed against a funeral services company in the city of Rio Verde, Goiás. The police action resulted in a preventive arrest and the execution of search and seizure warrants.
The operation involved the Division for Combating Economic and Property Crimes Committed by Cyber Means (DCCCEP), linked to the State Directorate for Combating Cyber Crimes (DECCC), providing operational and logistical support to the Civil Police of the State of Goiás.
The investigations began in June 2023, after it was found that altered bank slips were issued and sent to the departments responsible for settling supplier payments, resulting in seven undue payments. The total loss from the criminal action was R$54 thousand.
According to João Amorim, head of the DCCEP, the investigations indicated that the criminals had gained unauthorized access to the corporate emails of the victim company, altering the beneficiary information on the slips. “The technical analysis indicated signs of cyber invasion through remote access software, which allowed the redirection of communications to an email used as a contact point for the scammers,” explained the delegate.
With the lifting of telematic secrecy and data cross-referencing, the Civil Police identified three suspects with direct links to the accesses and movements related to the fraudulent email, one of whom is a businessman in the IT sector residing in the city of Belém and two others linked to the case.
During the execution of the judicial warrants issued by the Judiciary of the State of Goiás at the targets' properties and at the headquarters of a legal entity, various items of investigative interest were seized, such as: telephones, computer equipment, £500 in cash, bank cards, and a luxury vehicle. It was also found that during the period of the crime, the target of the arrest had made atypical transactions, deviating from their historical profile of financial operations.
The individuals involved may face charges of qualified theft through fraud, invasion of a computer device, and use of false documents, as the gathered evidence indicates the coordinated action of a criminal group specialized in electronic frauds, with an operational base in the State of Pará, aimed at committing property crimes through the alteration of slips and manipulation of corporate systems.
*Text by Jacqueline Costa, intern, under the supervision of Esther Pinheiro / Ascom PC
