Romanian Man Sentenced in Madison 'Phishing' Scheme

A Romanian citizen convicted of 'phishing' in Madison and other towns will spend more than 7 years in prison.

Dragos Nicolae Drashici, 28, was sentended today, June 13, to 78 months in federal prison for participating in an extensive Internet “phishing” ring, the U.S. Attorney's office has announced.

A phishing scheme uses the Internet to target large numbers of unwary individuals, using fraud and deceit to obtain private personal and financial information such as names, addresses, bank account numbers, credit card numbers and Social Security numbers. 

Phishing often works by sending out large numbers of counterfeit e-mails that look as if they came from legitimate banks, financial institutions or other companies. The fake emails ask individuals to click on a hyperlink that takes them  to a counterfeit bank site where they are then asked to enter their  name, address and credit or debit card numbers.        

According to court documents and statements made in court, in June 2005 a Madison resident contacted the FBI in New Haven about a suspicious email that she had received that purported to be from Connecticut-based People’s Bank.  The email stated that the recipient’s online banking access profile had been locked and instructed the recipient to click on a link to a web page where the recipient could enter information to “unlock” his or her profile. 

The web page appeared to originate from People’s Bank, but, as the investigation revealed, was actually hosted on a compromised computer in Minnesota. Information entered on the site was sent by email to individuals in Romania, or to a “collector” account, which was an email account used to receive and collect the information obtained through phishing.       

Draghici and others, federal prosecutors say, were part of a loose-knit conspiracy of individuals from Craiova, Romania, and neighboring areas that shared files, tools, and stolen information obtained through phishing, the U.S. Attorney's office said today in a statement.

They shared a number of collector accounts, which contained thousands of email messages that contained credit or debit card numbers, expiration dates, CVV codes, PIN numbers, and other personal identification information such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. 

The federal investigation revealed that Draghici was involved in phishing from at least 2004 through 2010, harvesting email addresses, spamming, setting up counterfeit websites and collecting stolen data, federal officials said.

He identified himself as “a hacker,” and he was involved in obtaining unauthorized access to computers that could be used for spamming and for hosting counterfeit websites. 

An analysis of Draghici's email accounts revealed more than 6,000 stolen debit or credit card account numbers, authorities said. In addition to People’s Bank, financial institutions and companies targeted by the defendants included Citibank, Capital One, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Comerica Bank, Regions Bank, LaSalle Bank, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo & Co., eBay and PayPal. This investigation has resulted in criminal charges against 19 Romanian citizens. 

In 2007, a grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging seven defendants with various offenses stemming from this scheme. In 2010, a grand jury returned a second superseding indictment charging an additional 12 defendants, including Draghici.  

The first three defendants to face charges were extradited from Bulgaria, Croatia and Canada. 

Draghici and seven other defendants were extradited from Romania following the ratification in 2010 of an amended treaty on mutual legal assistance between Romania and the United States.        

In 2012 he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with access devices.