Ukrainian cyberpolice dismantled an underground call center that defrauded thousands of residents of Kazakhstan while pretending to be IT security teams of their banks.
Call center operators allegedly contacted victims posing as bank employees and told them that their bank accounts have been compromised. After obtaining victims’ financial data the scammers transferred money from victims’ accounts to banking accounts under their control. The fraudsters also issued quick loans and sent the loan amounts to their accounts.
The call center was located in Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth-largest city, and employed 37 operators. The scammers allegedly used offshore bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets to cover up their criminal activities.
The organizers of the scheme are said to have paid the call center operators percentage of the amount they managed to obtain from their victims.
During searchers at the call center and the suspects' residences the police officers seized 45 pieces of computer equipment, mobile phones, SIM cards, as well as databases containing personal data of of residents of Kazakhstan.
The police said that approximately 18,000 citizens of Kazakhstan were defrauded, it’s not clear how much money was lost.