Europol, a European cooperation of police services, recently carried out a major operation in which at least 15 people were arrested. These individuals are suspected of organizing large-scale crypto scams. Europol also allegedly seized more than $1 million in illegally obtained funds.
Scammers are caught
The large-scale police action was on January 11 carried out as a result of an investigation that was already started in June of the previous year. Raids were made at 22 locations in Bulgaria, Cyprus and Serbia. 14 of the 15 arrested were handcuffed in the latter country.
Police also seized a number of crypto wallets totaling more than $1 million cryptocurrencies stood up. Some $50,000 in cash and several vehicles were also seized by Europol.
The police have announced in a statement that all persons are believed to have been involved in an organized fraud organization. The criminal network would, among other things, manage a pyramid scheme in which they lure gullible investors with insane results and, according to them, make off with hundreds of millions of euros.
The perpetrators would have achieved this by running only four call centers.
Giant pyramid scheme
The fraudsters’ modus operandi was to initially request small amounts from victims, usually in the hundreds of euros, to gain trust. Once a more intimate relationship was established, they convinced the victims to keep transferring higher amounts until the fraudsters had enough to stop communication. From that moment on, the victims would never see their money again.
According to Europol, many victims have not yet reported to the police. That makes it difficult for them to determine exactly what the total damage would have been, but estimates mention an amount of several hundred million euros. So no small catch for the police.
Like Europol previously reported the agency is working hand-in-hand with various international authorities to “stay ahead of those who misuse crypto-assets to commit crimes and launder money”.