Authorities in Germany, Bulgaria, Serbia and Cyprus have taken down a network of cryptocurrency scams in collaboration with Europol. “The suspects used social media ads to lure victims to websites covertly operated by criminals, which offered seemingly exceptional investment opportunities in cryptocurrency,” Europol detailed.
Authorities Crack Down on Cryptocurrency Scams
Europol announced on Thursday that the authorities in Bulgaria, Serbia, Cyprus and Germany, in collaboration with Europol and Eurojust, have eliminated “call centers selling fake cryptocurrencies.”
The criminal network, which operates through call centers, “lured victims into investing large amounts of money in fake cryptocurrency schemes,” Europol explained, explaining:
The suspects used social media ads to lure victims to websites covertly operated by the criminals, which offered seemingly exceptional investment opportunities in cryptocurrency.
Fifteen people have been arrested in the case, while 261 have been questioned and 22 locations have been searched, including four call centers. Authorities also seized three hardware wallets containing around $1 million in cryptocurrency, approximately 50,000 euros in cash, three vehicles, electronic equipment, documents, and data backups.
The victims, mainly from Germany, were initially convinced to invest small sums of money. “False price increases leading to supposedly lucrative profits for investors convinced them to transfer higher amounts,” the EU law enforcement agency noted, adding:
Currently, it is estimated that the financial damage to the German victims exceeds two million euros.
Europol further revealed that there are also victims in other countries, including Switzerland, Australia and Canada.
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