HARRISBURG – PA State Police and the Attorney General’s Office have charged 27 people in a multi-million dollar scheme defrauding central PA banks and financial institutions by using stolen customer information. The leaders of the group, along with their co-conspirators, posed as bank staff to obtain customer account information. That information was then used to make withdrawals and transfers to accounts overseen by the criminal organization. The eight leaders are charged with felony corrupt organizations, access device fraud, theft, and related offenses. Nineteen others are charged with similar offenses. The impacted financial institutions were primarily located in Cumberland and Dauphin Counties. Victims reported receiving phone calls or text messages from someone claiming to be from their banking institution, often times alleging to be with the fraud department. The victims were asked for account information, logins and passwords, and other personal information. Once that information was obtained, the victims were locked out of their accounts, while the corrupt organization performed withdrawals and transfers, totaling $2.3 million.
