Europol has announced the arrest of 108 people suspected of participating in an international call center operation that defrauded victims of investment fraud.
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The operation was conducted in cooperation with law enforcement authorities from Lithuania and Latvia, who coordinated raids between March 24 and 25, 2022, at three locations belonging to the same criminal group.
According to the Europol announcement, the criminal group directed an army of 200 “traders” who spoke English, Russian, Polish and Hindi, inviting potential victims to present fake investment opportunities in cryptocurrencies, commodities and foreign currencies.
The amount of money stolen from individuals is estimated at at least 3,000,000 euros per month, so the group had set up a very profitable business.
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During the coordinated police raids, officers seized cash, luxury vehicles, €95,000 in cryptocurrencies, and identified and froze bank accounts. Eighty people were arrested in Latvia and 28 in Lithuania.
Europol published a video compilation from the raids, showing the locations of the most dismantled fraud call centers.
The black hole of investment fraud
In January, the US Federal Trade Commission released a report revealing that at least 95,000 Americans fell victim to social media fraud in 2021, losing an estimated $770 million (as a result).
Another survey focusing on UK consumers estimated that the financial loss from investment fraud in 2020 is €160,400,000 in the country and €426,000,000 when e-commerce and internet fraud are included.
That said, the scale of the problem is enormous and its impact on society is such that law enforcement cannot ignore it.
As the FBI last summer, people should be wary and look for red flags when agents present them with investment opportunities that seem very lucrative.
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These red flags include promises of high investment returns, often accompanied by a zero-risk guarantee, and unusual payment methods, such as credit cards, bank transfers, and cryptocurrencies.
Also, in almost all cases of investment fraud, the offers are unsolicited (the agents call you) and not in response to an expression of interest in investing.
Information source: bleepingcomputer.com
