Cyber specialists from the Security Service of Ukraine, together with the National Agency for the Fight against Terrorism, Extremism, and Cybercrime of the Czech Republic's Police, have dismantled a scheme for defrauding electronic accounts of EU residents.
As a result of joint efforts in Zakarpattia, four fraudsters were arrested for using viral programs to steal cryptocurrency and bank account information from foreign citizens.
To find clients, the suspects set up an illegal call center in Uzhhorod, recruiting at least 70 operators aged between 19 and 27 years.
Following their "instructions," the operators called foreign citizens, posing as investment consultants and persuading them to invest in "promising" cryptocurrency projects.
At the same time, IT specialists within the call center created online ads promoting fake investment platforms.
In both cases, the fraudsters encouraged their victims to register in an electronic cabinet, which allowed the criminals to hack into the victims' devices.
The suspects then accessed cryptocurrency wallets and banking apps, transferring stolen funds to their own accounts.
In this way, the fraudsters stole at least 2 million UAH in the equivalent.
During searches at the call center and the suspects' residences, mobile phones and computer equipment containing evidence of the crimes were seized.
Currently, the four organizers of the scheme have been charged under Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (fraud in particularly large amounts).
The criminals are in custody, facing up to 12 years in prison with asset confiscation. Investigations are ongoing to hold all participants in the scheme criminally accountable.
