4 Quebecers charged in alleged cyberattack scheme in Calgary

Calgary police have charged four people from Quebec in a cyberattack scheme that targeted customers of an online loan company with thousands of phone calls over the course of a day.

The Calgary Police Service (CPS) Cybercrime Team says a two-and-a-half year investigation has concluded into an online loan company that is alleged to have targeted customers with Telephony Denial of Service (TDoS) attacks.

CPS says these would cause an overwhelming volume of phone calls, sometimes totalling in the thousands within a 24-hour period.

It all started in December 2022, when a citizen contacted CPS to report they had been the victim of a TDoS, a cybercrime attack that disrupts telephone services by flooding a phone line with calls.

Investigators believe the attack was initiated by an online loan company, Sonic Cash 500, which the victim had used to acquire a loan.

CPS’ Cybercrime Team started investigating, which identified five additional victims, who had also experienced TDoS attacks.

Police say these attacks left phone lines unusable for victims, their families, friends, and employers, including a Calgary shopping mall, and a diagnostic imaging provider.

Through the investigation, officers figured out the company was running out of Quebec.

Search warrants were executed at five locations in Laval and Montreal, Que. in February 2024.

Officers seized thousands of documents and more than 200 electronic devices, including cellphones and computers. This disrupted the operations of the company and prevented more people from being victimized.

Steven Mancini, 41, and Johnny Rioux, 43, both of Laval, have been charged with one count each of extortion, harassing communications, fraud over $5,000, and criminal interest rate.

Scott Geddes, 44, and Megan Wartoukian, 35, both of Montreal, have each been charged with one count of extortion and harassing communications.

All four individuals are set to appear in a Calgary courtroom next month.

Any Calgarians who have been the victim of a cyber-enabled crime are encouraged to report it to the Calgary Police Service by calling 403-266-1234. Additionally, anyone with information about cyber crime that is targeting Calgarians can also report it to police, or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

The Alberta government warns consumers not to borrow from high cost of credit or payday lenders that aren’t properly license in the province. Albertans can check to see if a lender is licensed under the Consumer Protection Act here.

You also shouldn’t provide their banking log in credentials to anyone even to what they may believe to be a legitimate lender.