Overview
- Police say a 25-year-old Mexican was detained in flagrancia near an ATM on Bulevar del Norte after bank security alerts prompted a joint DPI–INTERPOL–DNPSC operation on July 26.
- Authorities seized 190,000 lempiras in cash and a cellphone at the scene, and the phone has been submitted for forensic examination to search for evidence of the alleged scheme.
- Honduran investigators' preliminary theory is that an algorithm and a phone-based program were used to send codes that authorized withdrawals without bank cards, but that claim has not been proven in court.
- The suspect faces charges of estafa and unauthorized access to computer systems, was notified of his rights and turned over to the Ministerio Público, and his name has not been released.
- Officials are reviewing other anomalous ATM transactions to measure total losses and to determine whether the method reflects an isolated actor or ties to a wider transnational fraud pattern, a trend Honduran authorities have investigated before.