Millions in accounts, curators in pretrial detention, and a tax office asking for a loan.
In Zaporizhzhia, law enforcement officers shut down several fraudulent call centers that were scamming residents of Ukraine and other countries. According to police, the groups operated in parallel, using different strategies, and one of the schemes was coordinated from prisons. The total confirmed losses are estimated at millions of hryvnias.
The operation was conducted by Zaporizhzhia Oblast Cyber Police officers , along with investigators from the regional National Police Department under the procedural direction of the Voznesenivka District Prosecutor's Office of Zaporizhzhia. Computer equipment, mobile phones, bank cards, storage media, and rough notes were seized during the searches.
The investigation also established that in a number of cases, the participants operated as organized groups with roles distributed, from operators and those who convinced victims to transfer funds to people responsible for withdrawing money through proxies.
One of the identified platforms targeted Kazakhstani citizens. The attackers posed as security officers from local banks , obtained confidential payment card information, and then stole the funds.
According to investigators, the organizer was a resident of Zaporizhia, who recruited a coordinator, several operators, and two participants who escalated the conversations to the point of money transfers. Cooperation with Kazakh law enforcement identified at least seven victims, and the total damage exceeded 9.9 million tenge, equivalent to over 800,000 hryvnias at the NBU exchange rate. Four defendants were charged under Part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and face up to eight years in prison.
A separate documented scheme was organized from prison, under the guise of a security service for a Ukrainian bank. According to police, the organizer controlled the accomplices' work remotely, while some participants were responsible for selecting "molds ," withdrawing cash, and transferring the money for further distribution. At least 38 victims were identified, with damages exceeding 2.5 million hryvnias. The organizer and two perpetrators were charged under Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which carries a penalty of up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
Another call center posed as tax service employees and convinced people to transfer money, supposedly as loans for business or entertainment purposes. Law enforcement officials say this incident involved at least 12 victims and damages totaling 500,000 hryvnias. All members of the group have been served with notices of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and petitions for their pretrial detention are being prepared.
In Zaporizhzhia, law enforcement officers shut down several fraudulent call centers that were scamming residents of Ukraine and other countries. According to police, the groups operated in parallel, using different strategies, and one of the schemes was coordinated from prisons. The total confirmed losses are estimated at millions of hryvnias.
The operation was conducted by Zaporizhzhia Oblast Cyber Police officers , along with investigators from the regional National Police Department under the procedural direction of the Voznesenivka District Prosecutor's Office of Zaporizhzhia. Computer equipment, mobile phones, bank cards, storage media, and rough notes were seized during the searches.
The investigation also established that in a number of cases, the participants operated as organized groups with roles distributed, from operators and those who convinced victims to transfer funds to people responsible for withdrawing money through proxies.
One of the identified platforms targeted Kazakhstani citizens. The attackers posed as security officers from local banks , obtained confidential payment card information, and then stole the funds.
According to investigators, the organizer was a resident of Zaporizhia, who recruited a coordinator, several operators, and two participants who escalated the conversations to the point of money transfers. Cooperation with Kazakh law enforcement identified at least seven victims, and the total damage exceeded 9.9 million tenge, equivalent to over 800,000 hryvnias at the NBU exchange rate. Four defendants were charged under Part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and face up to eight years in prison.
A separate documented scheme was organized from prison, under the guise of a security service for a Ukrainian bank. According to police, the organizer controlled the accomplices' work remotely, while some participants were responsible for selecting "molds ," withdrawing cash, and transferring the money for further distribution. At least 38 victims were identified, with damages exceeding 2.5 million hryvnias. The organizer and two perpetrators were charged under Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which carries a penalty of up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
Another call center posed as tax service employees and convinced people to transfer money, supposedly as loans for business or entertainment purposes. Law enforcement officials say this incident involved at least 12 victims and damages totaling 500,000 hryvnias. All members of the group have been served with notices of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and petitions for their pretrial detention are being prepared.
