Law enforcement officers have uncovered almost a hundred fraudulent call centers

Law enforcement officers conducted 411 searches and shut down 94 fraudulent call centers. Police found 1 794 fully equipped workstations in the premises. 26 suspects have already been reported for suspicion.

This was reported by the National Police.

The operation was conducted by the National Police, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office. They seized 3 336 computers, 1 346 phones, over 5 200 SIM cards, 90 bank cards, access points to 20 crypto wallets, and 22 cars. They also seized about $2 million, €64 000, cash in hryvnias, a kilogram of bank gold bars, and jewelry.

Police officers investigated 867 addresses of possible fraudulent call centers. In addition, 67 financial instruments used to commit criminal offenses were identified: 40 bank cards/accounts, 12 cryptocurrency wallets, and 15 drop people.

Law enforcement officers discovered an extensive infrastructure that systematically defrauded people. Administrators, operators, and other participants in the schemes operated in call centers, using ready-made conversation scripts, databases of potential victims, special software, and tools to hide and then withdraw money.

The schemes varied, but all aimed to obtain money from the victims or access to their accounts.

In some cases, operators called on behalf of banks and reported allegedly suspicious transactions or the threat of account blocking. In others, they presented themselves as brokers and convinced people to invest in fictitious investment and cryptocurrency platforms. Some victims were promised help in returning money that they had previously lost to scammers.

People were persuaded to transfer funds to controlled accounts, apply for loans, provide bank card details and confirmation codes, and install remote access programs on phones and computers.

Some call centers specialized in finding people interested in investing. Their contact details were collected into databases, which were then used for fraudulent calls or sold to other call centers.

Another identified trend is the sale of biologically active supplements without a doctorʼs prescription. The drugs themselves, by their chemical composition, had no medicinal properties. Operators offered them to people as a means of treating various diseases, although the products were sold without a doctorʼs prescription or recommendation.

Some of the call centers were aimed at citizens of other countries. In particular, in one of the proceedings, Ukrainian police officers, together with their German colleagues, are documenting the activities of a network that defrauded citizens of the European Union. The victims were persuaded to invest through fictitious brokerage platforms and install remote access programs. After that, their money was transferred through cryptocurrency exchanges to controlled accounts and electronic wallets.

The actions of the defendants are classified depending on their role and the circumstances of the crimes, in particular under articles on fraud and legalization of property obtained by criminal means. The maximum penalty for the incriminated crimes is up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.

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