A call center network operated by a gang of cybercriminals dismantled by the National Police of Ukraine
A call center network operated by a gang of cybercriminals dismantled by the National Police of Ukraine, that posed as a service to assist bitcoin scam victims in recovering their stolen goods while really committing the fraud against them. These unlawful contact centres’ con artists are also accused of defrauding EU and Ukrainian individuals who intended to invest in commodities including gold, oil, equities, and cryptocurrencies.
Throughout this global fraud operation, they used cutting-edge technology and software to mimic the phone numbers of state financial organizations.
According to the NPU, it was determined during the investigation that the contact center employees impersonated employees of these state banking institutions and demanded personal information from customers’ bank cards.
The attackers appeared to be members of a so-called “Community of cryptocurrency brokers” and used the contact information of prior victims of other cryptocurrency scammers to trick them into believing they could assist them in recovering their stolen assets in exchange for a “commission.” However, they cut off communication after deceiving the victim into transferring the money to accounts under the attacker’s control.
Ukrainian law enforcement officials confirmed these criminal acts after being granted access to the locations of several “call centers” linked to this cybercrime operation and the seizure of computer hardware, mobile phones, and data records.
Those involved in this fraud operation who are under investigation for fraud, use of malicious software, and membership in an organized criminal gang may receive a 12-year prison sentence.
They used VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone lines to conceal their real location while scamming hundreds of foreign investors. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that more than $80 million was lost to cryptocurrency investment scams last year, based on roughly 7,000 reports collected since October 2020.
Owners of cryptocurrencies have been cautioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) against con artists actively seeking virtual assets over the phone while assuming the identity of support staff for cryptocurrency exchanges or payment platforms.
In September 2021, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) also destroyed a network of contact centers in Lviv that was linked to a gang of scammers that preyed on bitcoin investors all over the world.
