Scam call center network busted in Ukraine

Law enforcement agencies from the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine have successfully dismantled several fraudulent call centers operated by criminals in Dnipro, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Kyiv, Ukraine.

The authorities estimate that the call centers defrauded more than 400 victims for over €10 million.

The fraudsters used various scams to deceive gullible victims. For example, they posed as police officers to withdraw money using their victims' bank cards and account details, or told their victims that their bank accounts had been hacked.

The scammers convinced their victims to transfer large sums of money from their supposedly “compromised” bank accounts to “safe” bank accounts, which were controlled by a criminal network. They also lured victims into downloading remote access software, like AnyDesk and TeamViewer, and entering their banking details, enabling the criminal group to access and control the victims’ bank accounts.

The criminals responsible for the fraudulent call centers recruited employees from the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, and other countries to extort money from victims. Approximately a hundred people worked in these call centers, performing different roles in the organization, ranging from making calls and forging official certificates from the police and banks to collecting cash from their victims.

To encourage workers to do their best, they would receive up to 7% of their criminal proceeds. If the employees obtained more than €100,000, they would receive bonuses, such as cash, a new car, or an apartment in Kyiv.

On December 9th, 2025, law enforcement authorities from the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine conducted 72 searches in offices, residences, and vehicles in three Ukrainian cities. During the raids, the authorities seized forged police officers’ and bank employees’ IDs, computers, laptops, hard drives, mobile phones, and a polygraph machine.

An unknown quantity of cash, 21 vehicles, various weapons, and ammunition were also confiscated. A total of 12 suspects were arrested, and another 45 people have been identified as suspects.

Eurojust coordinated the international operation between the law enforcement authorities, who met in Eurojust’s office in The Hague on three separate occasions to share information and plan the operation.

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