Ransom Demands For Overseas Plastic Surgery Patients

Disaster struck a plastic surgery clinic in Lithuania in March of this year as more than 25,000 private photos were stolen from the clinic and posted online. In addition to the photos, credit card info and passport details were also taken from the clinic.

To make matters worse, patients from the Grozio Chirurgija clinic started receiving ransom demands of 2000 euros ($2254 US dollars). Officials investigating the case say a hacking group called “Tsar Team” is behind the theft and the publishing of the photos.

“Penalty Fee”

The theft happened in March and it didn’t take long for the people behind the deed to make their demands. In April, the clinic received a demand for a “small penalty fee” of 344,000 euros ($387,725 US dollars). According to the ransom note, the “penalty fee” was the price for the clinic having computer systems that were vulnerable to attack. The clinic refused to pay and the stolen data was published online including photos of regular patients as well as celebrity patients. The clinic performs a wide range of procedures including rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery and facelifts.

A Larger Ransom Demand

According to the Lithuanian news site, 15min, once the information was published online, the group stated to demand a payment of 113,500 euros ($127,985 US dollars) for the entire database. The group also claimed that a large number of people had already paid them to delete the data.

Extortion (According To the Police)

When asked about the ransom demands, Andzejus Raginskis, the deputy chief of the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, said “It’s extortion. We’re talking about a serious crime.”

He went on to warn the public that anyone discovered to have downloaded the stolen data faced prosecution and a possible prison sentence of up to three years.

The clinic is asking anyone who receives a ransom demand to not respond to the demand or open any links sent to them asking for money. Instead, they are asking people contacted by the group who stole the data to go to the police with any information relevant to the case.

MA