According to Europol, the callers posed as “close relatives, bank employees, customer service agents or police officers” and used “various manipulative tactics” to “shock and extort victims out of their savings.”
The investigation began in December 2023, when a bank employee in Baden-Württemberg became suspicious of a customer’s request to withdraw a large amount in cash. He alerted the police, who prevented the victim from handing over the money to the fraudsters.
The police then discovered that the phone numbers used by the scammers were linked to a large-scale fraud scheme and the investigation widened. More than 100 German police officers were tasked with listening in on calls from the call center in real time, working around the clock and monitoring up to 30 conversations at a time.
Police warned potential victims, preventing losses totaling ten million euros in approximately 6,000 cases, the authorities of Baden-Württemberg and Europol said. Investigators also gathered information about the infrastructure of fraudulent callers, which culminated in international raids coordinated by Europol.
During the raids, investigators seized cash and assets amounting to one million euros, as well as electronic evidence, which is expected to provide information about other call centers and fraudsters, Europol said.
Report an error in the article
Highlight the erroneous text and press Ctrl+Enter.
Mark the wrong text and report it!
Tags: German police dismantled Europes largest network fraudulent call centers
