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AFP cyber crime investigation leads to a two-year and eight-month intensive correction order and 500 hours of community service for the perpetrator.
A 25-year-old Sydney man has been sentenced to a two-year and eight-month intensive correction order after pleading guilty to four fraud and identity theft offences in September 2023.
In addition, the man will be required to complete 500 hours of community service.
Following a June 2022 report from an Australian financial institution that an employee may have illegally accessed several customers’ accounts, the AFP’s Eastern Command Cybercrime launched an investigation that led to police executing a search warrant at the man’s home in Balmain East in August 2022.
Police seized six phones and four laptops, approximately 50 to 60 debit cards in the perpetrator’s name, six debit cards in the names of other victims, SIM cards, and bank documents.
The man had used the personal ID of bank customers to open fraudulent accounts and debit cards, obtaining $53,000 from other banks in the process.
The man pleaded guilty to one count each of dishonestly obtaining/dealing in personal financial information, accessing data by carriage service with intent to commit a serious offence, possession of identification information, and dishonestly obtaining financial advantage or causing disadvantage by deception.
“The AFP will not tolerate the exploitation of Australians, especially by people who are using their trusted positions or access to steal other people’s savings or personal data,” AFP Commander Kate Ferry said in a statement.
“The AFP has strong partnerships with financial institutions and law enforcement agencies across Australia and overseas to identify and stop criminal activity.
“The consequences of identity theft can have devastating impacts on victims, and we encourage any Australian who notices anomalies in their banking accounts to contact their bank immediately and report the matter to Report Cyber at cyber.gov.au.”
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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