Authorities Probe Second Massive Cyber Heist Targeting Crete Public Sector

16:06 3/9/2026 - Πηγή: iEfimerida

Greece’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority is investigating a second major cyber fraud case targeting public sector entities in Crete, after fraudsters siphoned roughly 500,000 euros from a large municipality in late August.

The theft follows a nearly identical

phishing scam executed days earlier, in which approximately 150,000 euros were stolen from the Region of Crete.

In both instances, unknown perpetrators tricked government employees into entering their login credentials on fake banking websites.

Once granted access, the hackers executed dozens of rapid, small-scale overnight transfers—a money laundering technique known as "smurfing"—routing the funds to international accounts before officials could intervene.

The Anti-Money Laundering Authority, led by honorary Supreme Court deputy prosecutor Charalambos Vourliotis, quickly launched an investigation.

Coordinating with international counterpart agencies, Mr. Vourliotis’ team has successfully frozen and recovered roughly half of the funds stolen in the initial heist.

Investigators are now employing the same aggressive digital tracing tactics to recover the 500,000 euros stolen in the second breach.

High-ranking officials within the Hellenic Police have been briefed on both cases to determine whether a single criminal network is orchestrating the sophisticated cyber attacks against the island's local governments.

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Greece’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority is investigating a second major cyber fraud case targeting public sector entities in Crete, after fraudsters siphoned roughly 500,000 euros from a large municipality in late August.

The theft follows a nearly identical phishing scam executed days earlier, in which approximately 150,000 euros were stolen from the Region of Crete.

In both instances, unknown perpetrators tricked government employees into entering their login credentials on fake banking websites.

Once granted access, the hackers executed dozens of rapid, small-scale overnight transfers—a money laundering technique known as "smurfing"—routing the funds to international accounts before officials could intervene.

The Anti-Money Laundering Authority, led by honorary Supreme Court deputy prosecutor Charalambos Vourliotis, quickly launched an investigation.

Coordinating with international counterpart agencies, Mr. Vourliotis’ team has successfully frozen and recovered roughly half of the funds stolen in the initial heist.

Investigators are now employing the same aggressive digital tracing tactics to recover the 500,000 euros stolen in the second breach.

High-ranking officials within the Hellenic Police have been briefed on both cases to determine whether a single criminal network is orchestrating the sophisticated cyber attacks against the island's local governments.

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Authorities Probe Second Massive Cyber Heist Targeting Crete Public Sector,