24-year-old remanded for text message fraud cases

A 24-year-old man has been remanded in custody for eight days in connection with two cases in which men lost money after providing bank card details through fraudulent text messages, police said on Wednesday. The suspect, a Pakistani national living in Nicosia, was arrested on Tuesday and appeared before Larnaca district court on Wednesday when he was remanded. Larnaca CID is investigating theft, fraud involving information systems, money laundering and other offences. The first complaint was made on September 21 by a 76-year-old man who said he received a text message appearing to come from “traffic CY”. After opening the message, he provided, among other details, his bank card number. A total of €3,963 was subsequently stolen through two ATM withdrawals in Nicosia. A second complaint was made on October 2 by a 68-year-old man who said he received a message from a sender identified as “CY MEDICAL”. After opening it, he provided his credit card details and €770 was subsequently stolen. Larnaca police spokesman Spyros Chrysostomou said investigations had produced evidence against the 24-year-old, leading to an arrest warrant being issued. His home was searched and several items of evidence were seized. The card details belonging to the two complainants had been found stored in the digital wallet of a mobile phone allegedly linked to the suspect, police said. The cash withdrawals appear to have been made by another person, who police are still seeking. Another suspect was recently arrested in Nicosia, and investigators are examining whether he is linked to the 24-year-old. The investigation is continuing.