Scam call centers operate in Ukraine,[1][2][3][4] including major cities such as Kyiv and Dnipro. Under Article 190 of Criminal Code of Ukraine, the activities of these call centers are considered illegal.[5] According to Sberbank, the "capital" of phone fraud is Dnipro,[6] and up to 95% of calls originate from Ukraine to Russians.[7]
These organized cells specialize in fraudulent schemes aimed at extracting funds from citizens. Scammers may call individuals, posing as bank and mobile operator security personnel, to obtain card information and SMS codes for the purpose of misappropriating victims' funds. After obtaining data supposedly meant to prevent fraud, scammers siphon money from victims and transfer it to specific accounts. The operations of such groups are not confined to Ukraine and Russia but target countries with a significant Russian-speaking population, such as Kazakhstan, Poland, and the Czech Republic. However, there are also call centers focused on English-speaking countries.[3]
According to the Geneva-based Global Initiative, which monitors such activities, the proceeds from fraudulent call centers often do not contribute to the development of the Ukrainian economy but are transferred to offshore accounts or cryptocurrencies to avoid taxation.[1]
International media and organizations such as The Times of Israel, Dagens Nyheter, and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), have exposed information about scam call centers based in Kyiv. One of the companies associated with these call centers is named "Milton Group".[citation needed]
The Russian government has said that Ukrainian scam call centers have played a significant role in the many unusual fires that have occurred in Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In December 2022, Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) issued a warning about Ukrainian scam calls, saying that scammers "incline gullible citizens to commit arson attacks on social infrastructure facilities, as well as cars in crowded places". According to the FSB, most of these arsonists were told that they were participating in an operation to catch pro-Ukrainian criminals. BBC believes that the claim is not supported by concrete evidence.[8][9]
In August 2023, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued official warnings about a new form of phone fraud in which Russians are forced to set fire to military enlistment offices through pressure or deception. The authorities claim that scammers call from the territory of Ukraine and choose elderly Russians as their victims. The Russian government has not yet offered any evidence of their claims.[10][11] Russian liberal business newspaper Kommersant claims that fraudsters support the Armed Forces of Ukraine and organize "terrorist attacks".[12]
^ abJack Meegan-Vickers (21 October 2023). "Scam call centres in Ukraine". Global Initiative. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
^"Колл-центри: шахрайство в Україні". Антикорупційна правозахисна рада (in Ukrainian). 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
^ ab"Тысячи "сотрудников", взятки, крипта и пытки: как устроены мошеннические колл-центры в Украине". Інформатор UA (in Russian). 2023-07-26. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
^Grzegorczyk, Marek (14 September 2021). "Ukraine is failing to tackle its scam call centres". Emerging Europe. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
^"Fraud lawyer - Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine". Lawyer Association "Lawrange". Retrieved 2024-01-01.
^"У Росії Дніпро назвали "столицею телефонного шахрайства"". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-01-01.
^"Названа "столица" телефонного мошенничества". РБК Life. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
^"Russia blames Ukraine for military call-up centre fires". BBC News. 2023-08-08. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
^"Поджог по телефону. Откуда берутся новости о пенсионерах, атакующих военкоматы с коктейлями Молотова". Медиазона (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-01-06.
^"Генпрокуратура и МВД официально заявили о мошеннической схеме, при которой россиян вынуждают поджигать военкоматы". Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-01-06.
^Snodgrass, Erin. "Russia accuses Ukraine of orchestrating a phone scam scheme to trick elderly Russians into setting military recruitment offices on fire amid string of arson attacks". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
^"Дважды потерпевшие". Kommersant (in Russian). 2024-01-04. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
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