Hungarian and Romanian police have arrested four young hackers in a coordinated cross-border operation targeting a wave of scams and threatening phone calls, the investigative office of Hungary's rapid-response police (KR NNI) announced on police.hu on Monday, MTI reports.
The investigation began in July last year, following multiple reports of serious offenses, including fake bomb threats against schools, churches and residential buildings, as well as false claims of murder and attacks on police units, KR NNI said.
The crimes involved "swatting" - fake emergency calls to trigger armed police interventions, and "doxing" - the unauthorized publication of personal data.
According to investigators, the suspects contacted their victims on the online platform Discord. After disputes there escalated, the hackers obtained personal information and phone numbers, which they then used to file false crime reports with the police.
The probe was led by KR NNI's cybercrime unit, supported by the counter-terrorism force TEK and the Nagykanizsa police department. When evidence pointed to the involvement of a Romanian national, Romanian police joined the operation.
The suspects have now been identified as a 17-year-old Romanian from Bihor County and three Hungarian youths aged 16, 18 and 20 from Kisvárda, Nyíregyháza and Budapest, respectively.
Coordinated raids were carried out on January 20 at locations in both Hungary and Romania, with police seizing electronic devices, phones and data storage media, and securing evidence from online accounts.
The 16-year-old from Kisvárda, questioned on suspicion of making threats, denied the allegations and was released pending further investigation.
The 17-year-old Romanian suspect faces charges including terrorism, threats to public safety and misuse of personal data.
The legal status of the remaining two suspects is still being assessed as investigators examine the seized evidence and clarify their roles, KR NNI added.
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