European authorities have detained 15 people in alleged crypto scams and shut down the operation of a large-scale call center network that allegedly stole hundreds of millions of euros from victims by selling fake digital currency.
According to Europol, the arrest was made on January 11, 2023, after German authorities requested an investigation in June last year.
Europol, in collaboration with the national law enforcement agencies of Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Serbia, launched raids on 22 different sites. The operation produced 15 people, 14 in Serbia and one in Germany.
🚨 Successful action days in Bulgaria, Cyprus and Serbia:
with #Eurojust & @Europol support, the authorities manage to take down a #crypto currency fraud network. 💻
The criminals made many victims in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Canada & Australia.
👉 https://t.co/99lw5RNC54 pic.twitter.com/Pa5qRiFD3R
– Eurojust (@Eurojust) January 12, 2023
Massive Crypto Scam Uses Different Languages
Criminal gangs that operate fraud call centers employ 200 “traders” who prey on their targets using English, Russian, Polish, Hindi, and German languages to offer fraudulent investment options in cryptocurrencies and commodities, defrauding victims of at least 3,000,000 euros per month. .
Investigators believe that German victims have lost more than 2 million euros, but reveal that victims from other countries have also fallen victim to fraudsters.
Criminal networks run cryptocurrency pyramid schemes where they lure victims through social media by offering them “significant-looking” bitcoin investments – also known as the ‘Pig Butchering’ cryptocurrency scam – with the promise of huge, guaranteed income.
Image: Ethical Hacking - Nextdoorsec
Named in allusion to the procedure of fattening pigs before the slaughter, this crypto scam operation sometimes requires fraudsters to contact victims randomly, win their trust, and then trick them into making fraudulent investments before fleeing with the proceeds.
The criminals initially persuade the victims to invest a small amount. Fraudsters then persuade their victims to transfer additional amounts by promising false price increases and good earnings.
Image: European Parliament
On Friday, Europol announced:
“The suspects used advertisements on social media to lead victims to websites secretly managed by criminals promising what appeared to be good cryptocurrency investment opportunities.”
Police Seize $1 Million In Crypto Scam Raid
Europol said that the organization is cooperating with several international police forces to “continue to move forward from individuals who misuse crypto assets to commit crimes and launder money.”
The searched location yielded electronic equipment, data, and documents, as well as three hardware wallets containing approximately $1 million in cryptocurrencies and approximately 50,000 euros in cash.
Governments around the world are starting to take notice of the illegal use of cryptocurrency. The United States government, for example, has taken strong measures against crypto-fraud services that have been shown to aid malicious activity.
Crypto total market cap at $937 billion on the daily chart | Chart: TradingView.com
In June 2022, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that between January 2021 and March 2022, more than 46,000 Americans reported losing more than $1 billion in digital currency to crypto fraud.
In October, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a warning about the ‘Pig Killer’ investment scheme, in which criminals steal a constant amount of cryptocurrency, in order to increase understanding among cryptocurrency investors who are exploited by the fraud.
-Featured image by Michael Crabtree/Getty Images