Cosenza, the king of online scams arrested: he must serve over seven years in prison

Cosenza, the long career of a 63-year-old criminal, originally from the province of Cosenza, was interrupted by the Postal and Communications Police, who tracked him down and arrested him in a small town near Rome, where he was hiding to escape to the execution of the definitive sentence of over 7 years of imprisonment, for the crimes of criminal association aimed at the falsification of payment instruments, fraud, extortion and other crimes.

The operators of the Postal Police of Cosenza and of the Judicial Police Section of the Public Prosecutor's Office of the same capital, with the support of personnel of the Postal Police of Rome, through specific IT and traditional investigations, launched following further, recent scams committed by arrested, under the coordination of the Cosenza Prosecutor's Office, made it possible to identify the geographical area of ​​the province of Rome in which the fugitive was presumably orbiting.

Further investigations and stakeouts carried out in the area of ​​interest, with the collaboration of the Colleferro Police Station, confirmed the presence of the man in an apartment in the area, inside which he was surprised in the early hours of the morning, in possession of numerous IT tools and documents of investigative interest which were seized by investigators at the disposal of the Judicial Authority of Cosenza, including several mobile phones, payment cards and internet connection devices.

From the investigations and stakeouts on the scene it emerged, among other things, that the fugitive had financial resources which he periodically withdrew through the ATMs in the area where he was identified, using cards in his possession.

Considered by investigators to be one of the first cyber criminals and a member of a transnational organization dedicated to the falsification of payment instruments and computer fraud, he had been at the center of various investigations by the Postal and Communications Police and various offices of the State Police and the 'Carabinieri weapon.

And precisely in one of these investigations, together with the arrested person, another man was also involved, arrested, after years of being on the run, in July 2019 in Fiumicino in a similar operation, under the directives of the Deputy Public Prosecutor of Cosenza Dr. Maria Luigia D'Andrea, with the coordination of the Chief Prosecutor Dr. Mario Spagnuolo, also responsible for the investigation completed yesterday.

This operation is believed to have also put a further brake on current and profitable criminal activities, which over the years have seen numerous victims deceived and damaged in various parts of Italy.

The increase in computer crimes in general, already recorded in recent years and further aggravated by the onset of the pandemic, has also seen a proportional increase in scams carried out through online commercial transactions and the related improper use of payment cards and other financial products, through various forms of phishing or abusive access to home banking systems.

The situation requires all web users to pay greater attention and awareness in the use of these tools and this is why media campaigns aimed at raising public awareness of some important precautions to be taken when wanting to make purchases or sales have been launched for some time. Network.

The Postal and Communications Police periodically disseminates, on their respective institutional channels, the guides for safe purchases against the risks of e-commerce, both on the occasion of the main holidays and in the imminence of the summer season, periods in which the volume of business and the risk of running into unpleasant traps with tempting offers of goods, services, trips, houses for rent and more.