Hacker is arrested after circumventing systems to pay a cent in a euro for luxury accommodation

Cybercrime; hacker; digital crimes; virtual crimes
Kevin Horvart/Unplash
Spain's national police reported on Wednesday (18) that they arrested a 20-year-old man suspected of circumventing a hotel reservation system to pay just one euro cent for luxury accommodation. paid off.
However, only a minimum amount - one cent - was actually charged for rooms costing up to 1,000 euros per night (R$6,182.54).
"This cyber attack was specifically designed to alter the payment validation system, and it is the first time we have detected a crime using this method," said Spain's National Police.
Police said the man, a Spanish national, also consumed items from the minibar during his stays and, occasionally left accounts open.
At the time of his arrest, he was staying at a luxury hotel in Madrid, with a four-night reservation worth a total of 4,000 euros.
The man had previously stayed at the hotel several times, causing losses in excess of 20,000 euros, according to a police spokeswoman.
The investigation began after an online booking site reported suspicious activity earlier this month.
The transactions initially appeared to have been completed correctly, but the irregularity it was only discovered days later, when the payment platform transferred the amount actually paid to the affected company.
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Source: G1