A fraudulent call centre has been uncovered in Kyiv, which defrauded US citizens of over 500 thousand dollars
The Kyiv Cyber Police, under the procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General, have uncovered a fraudulent call centre whose members defrauded citizens of the United States of America of more than 500 thousand dollars.
According to the investigation, the suspects set up a fraudulent office in Kyiv and made so-called cold calls to foreign nationals. Around 20 people were involved in the scheme, whilst the office’s infrastructure was designed to accommodate nearly 60 workstations.
The fraudsters posed as financial advisers and persuaded the victims to invest in cryptocurrency, securities and shares. To do this, they used fake investment platforms, cryptocurrency exchanges and other online resources under their control.
To work in the call centre, the organisers recruited people with a working knowledge of English, including individuals from West Africa, South America, the European Union and Ukraine. Candidates were vetted to minimise the risk of information leaks.
Once the funds had been received, the fraudsters transferred the money via cryptocurrency wallets under their control and severed all contact with the victims.
The fraud scheme operated from an office in Kyiv, which was equipped with computer hardware, internet access, an access control system and CCTV.
Law enforcement officers carried out a special operation to shut down the call centre’s activities and conducted authorised searches of the office and the homes of those involved in the scheme.
During the investigation, nearly 50 items of computer equipment, over 30 mobile phones, databases containing information on US citizens, draft records and other material evidence were seized.
It has so far been established that at least 20 US citizens have fallen victim to the perpetrators’ actions. The total amount of losses exceeds 500 thousand dollars.
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing under Part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The offence carries a penalty of up to 8 years’ imprisonment.
