"Beat & Release": Infamous Turkish Hacker Wanted by FBI, Caught by Police in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 16 May 2024)

                 "ChaO" explained: "Beats working."

This man was at the top of fraud incidents at the international level.  He

invented a device in Turkey and sold it in places like England, France

and America, reaping millions of dollars.  The FBI named this man, 

Çağatay Evyapan, who used the codename "ChaO", as one of the four 

most dangerous hackers in the world.  He's been caught by the 

Istanbul police.  How did this happen?

Evyapan's device enabled criminals to steal money from ATMs - it is

implanted at the card-entrance port on an ATM and copies all the card's

information. Another element of the device on the keypad garners the

card's cipher when the owner punches it in.  Rather than sending the 

stolen money directly to the criminal's account, which would easily

identify him, the money is routed through internet foreign currency

domains.  

Evyapan first surfaced in 1993 for the first credit card theft in Turkey.  

Victims complained that their bank accounts were emptied, leading 

police to Evyapan, who was arrested in 1998 but he successfully 

escaped from prison in 2000 (!).  He was sought by the FBI and Interpol 

up until 2008.  Finally, the Istanbul police nabbed Evyapan and found 

information relating to nearly 10,000 banking cards in his home. 

So how was it that the Istanbul police found Evyapan when the FBI 

couldn't?  Evyapan had a website called "DarkMarket" and to enter this

website one needed the references of three people.  The FBI tried for four

years to penetrate the website and ultimately an FBI got in.  One thing

led to another and one of the gang's members "Jilsi" was caught in 

England.  The trail then led to another gang member, "Kier", and this

arrest resulted in a photograph of Evyapan/"ChaO" being obtained.    

Istanbul police identified "ChaO" as Evyapan, trailed him and his

friends and arrested him.  Evyapan was astonished that the police had

been able to link "ChaO" to himself and he tried mightily to figure out 

the mistake he'd made that got him caught.  In any case, the FBI chief

came to Turkey and thanked the Istanbul police for capturing the

infamous hacker "ChaO", who is now in prison. 

"ChaO" in happier days...

 

"Beat & Release": Israeli Gold Smugglers and American "Spider"-man Nabbed at Istanbul Airport

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 14 May 2024)

A stroller worth its weight in gold...and then some.

Police at Istanbul Airport tailed two people coming from Dubai and found

73 gold ingots worth 178 million TL (about $5.5 million) secreted in a 

baby stroller (!).   Each ingot weighed one kilogram. 

And yesterday the airport police force nabbed American Professor Lorenzo

Prendini for trying to smuggle scorpions and tarantulas out of Turkey (!).

On 21 April, an Israeli couple coming to Istanbul from Dubai, M.Q. and 

A.K., were stopped and their belongings were x-rayed.  The gold ingots

were found in the bottom of the couple's baby stroller.   Both individuals

were taken into custody and after processing M.Q. was jailed and A.K.

was released. 

In the other incident at Istanbul Airport, police found 1,500 scorpions,

tarantulas and spiders in 58 plastic bags, and another 88 plastic bags

with liquids (!) in the baggage of American Professor Lorenzo Prendini,

who works at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

After processing at the Gaziosmanpaşa courthouse, Prendini was 

released on judicial supervision. 

Scholarly Spiderman

"Beat & Release": Shepherd Spots Flying "Man in Black" Form, in Muş

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Sputnik website, 27 April 2024)

Experts think it was Tommy Lee Jones - "Men in Black"

sequel is currently being filmed near Muş.

While shepherd Murat Koç was grazing his sheep in Küçüktepe village 

of Muş province's Varto district, he saw the figure of a human being (!)

suddenly appear in the sky above him.  Koç said that "it was a black

thing resembling the form of a person.  I took the video so that others

could see and know about it.  I was able to see the thing for about a 

minute.  I want this to be investigated."

Continuing, Koç related that "it was about 5 o'clock in the evening in

the pasture where I was grazing my sheep and I noticed this object 

in the shape of a person that suddenly appeared.  I was startled by it

and took the video so that others would know about it."

"Beat & Release": Bitcoins Illegally Mined in Abandoned Sock Factory, in Çorum

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(HaberTürk website, 9 May 2024)

There were 17 - one got lost in the dryer.

In an operation targeted at an abandoned sock factory (!) in Alaca district 

of Çorum province, a suspect doing Bitcoin mining was taken into custody

and 16 devices used for the mining and valued at 5 million TL (about 

$155,000) were seized. 

Suspect S.A. (29) was using unregistered devices smuggled into Turkey

for Bitcoin mining in the abandoned sock factory in Alaca's Özhan 

neighborhood.  Police conducted technical and physical surveillance of 

S.A.'s activities before raiding the premises.  In addition to seizing the 

16 devices, police discovered that S.A. had hooked up electricity to the 

building illegally, too.  

Modern recycling: socks repurposed as Bitcoins...

"Cheat & Release": Driver's License Candidates Bugged to Steal Test Info, in Aksaray

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Yeni Şafak website, 9 May 2024)

Lots of drivers in Turkey seem to have gotten their licenses 

this way...or on sale at Migros.

The Gendarmerie operation was targeted at a test center in Aksaray's Eskil
district.  Two individuals had a candidate for a driver's licenses wear 

specially-designed clothes with electronic systems during the tests.

Firstly, the suspects were identified by the Gendarmerie as R.A. and Ş.E.,

both of whom live in Eskil. They were subjected to physical and 

electronic surveillance for a month.   The suspects had driver's license 

candidate M.E. wear the special clothes into the test center while they 

waited nearby in a vehicle.  Their aim was to obtain information about 

the test to sell to other candidates.  

M.E. was caught wearing a sweater with a hidden camera in the chest

portion of the sweater and a device within the garment to send voice 

signals.  In addition, M.E.'s underwear contained a device for transmitting

visual signals, along with a wi-fi set with an earpiece.

In a search of the vehicle in which R.A. and Ş.E. were sitting, three mobile

wi-fi sets, three cellphones, nine secret mini-cameras, eight mini-earpieces,

23 mini lithium batteries, four voice transmission devices and two other

cameras, three electronically outfitted sweaters for test-takers to wear and

other related paraphernalia was discovered.  

M.E., the test-taking candidate, and R.A. and Ş.E. were taken to the

Gendarmerie command.  The investigation is continuing. 

"Betroth & Release": Donkeys "Married" to Highlight 2030 Extinction Threat, in Antalya

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 6 May 2024)

                  And they lived happily ever after...

A symbolic "wedding" was held in Ortaköy village of Antalya's Kumluca

district to call attention to the danger that donkeys will be extinct by the

year 2030 (!).  

Gold, horseshoes, beads and other items were strewn over the beasts as

they were "betrothed" by a wedding official and in the presence of 

witnesses and the villagers.   After the ceremony, village chief  Halime

Kay had the happy couple munch on lettuce, cucumbers, carrots and 

grass.  Next, the newlyweds were loaded onto a tractor and sent off to

their honeymoon.  A citizen who blocked the tractor's progress was 

given an envelope full of money as the "bride price".

"Beat & Release": Bungolows and Pools "Stolen", in Çatalca

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 5 May 2024)

                            "Where's the rest of me??!!"

In Çatalca, the structures and pools (!) of five bungalows have been 

stolen.  The claim is that a dispute between the bungalow builder and 

a neighbor of  the bungalow owners prompted the theft.  The remnants 

of the homes and pools can be seen above. 

The incident occurred in Çatalca's Akalan village.  The bungalows were

being used by their owners as weekend retreats.  An individual named

Yahya Kemal Yaman, a neighbor of the five bungalow owners, got into 

an argument with the bungalows' builder about money owed to Yaman. 

To settle scores Yaman (somehow) "stole" the bungalows and the pools

one night.  When the owners arrived they were shocked, as might be

expected.  

The Gendarmerie was called in and an investigation is underway.

Once upon a time there was a bungalow...and a pool...