Law enforcement officers exposed and stopped the activities of a criminal group that specialized in fraud in the field of financial services. The attackers extorted funds from citizens, using, among other things, bank customer databases. This was reported by UNN with reference to the Office of the Prosecutor General.
The Office of the Prosecutor General, with the operational support of employees of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, as a result of a large-scale special operation, stopped the activities of an organized criminal group that specialized in fraud in the field of financial services, in particular, through the activities of pseudo-brokerage "call centers"
The investigation established that a criminal organization operates in the Dnipropetrovsk region, whose participants created an extensive infrastructure of fictitious financial services. It is reported that under the guise of brokerage companies on the Internet, they organized so-called "call centers" that carried out fake activities related to "investing", "trading on stock exchanges" and using cryptocurrency platforms.
In fact, the activity was aimed at seizing citizens' funds
The attackers:
– stole or purchased databases of banking institutions' clients (identification and contact data);
– carried out mass SMS messages and calls, during which, pretending to be bank employees, they reported "dangerous operations" or "attempts of unauthorized access";
– using pre-prepared conversation scripts with psychological pressure, they extorted bank card numbers, CVV codes, one-time passwords and SMS codes from victims, and also, misleading citizens, forced them to independently transfer funds to accounts controlled by the criminal group.
Thus, the victims' funds were transferred to dummy accounts and cards, and then cashed out on the territory of Ukraine. Part of the funds was sent abroad.
As reported, on July 9, law enforcement officers conducted searches in 25 premises in the Dnipropetrovsk region (in particular, in the cities of Dnipro and Kamianske).
Seized were:
– over 1220 units of computer equipment (system units and laptops),
– cars with installed electronic warfare (EW) equipment,
– significant amounts of cash;
– various forged IDs, including FSB RF, and other material evidence relevant to the criminal proceedings.
Also, during the investigative actions, a fact of obstruction of the prosecutor's lawful actions was recorded. A separate criminal proceeding has been initiated on this fact.
Currently, the pre-trial investigation is ongoing. The identification of victims continues, as well as the establishment of the full circle of persons involved in the functioning of the fraudulent network.