• European authorities arrested 15 people suspected of running a large-scale crypto scam operation.
• The call center networks targeted victims across multiple countries and allegedly stole hundreds of millions of euros.
• The criminals employed traders who spoke in different languages and fraudulently offered investment options in cryptocurrencies and commodities.

European authorities have conducted a massive operation, resulting in the arrest of 15 suspected crypto scam individuals and the closure of a large-scale call center network. Europol, in collaboration with the national law enforcement of Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Serbia, launched raids in 22 different sites, resulting in the capture of 15 people, 14 of them in Serbia and one in Germany.

The criminal gangs operating the call centers employed 200 “traders” who preyed on victims using languages in English, Russian, Polish, Hindi, and German to offer deceptive investment options in various digital currencies and commodities. They were able to defraud their victims of at least 3,000,000 euros per month.

Investigators believe that German victims have lost more than 2 million euros, but disclosed that victims from other nations have also fallen prey to the fraudsters. The crime network had been active since 2019, and authorities stated that the total amount of money that could have been stolen from victims may be hundreds of millions of euros.

The EU law enforcement agency Europol said that it has been actively focusing on combating fraud and money-laundering through digital currencies. Europol also stated that the successful operation of shutting down the crypto scam call center networks is a significant step towards deterring fraudsters from using digital currencies to commit financial crimes.

The operation serves as a reminder to all crypto users to be aware of the potential risks associated with investing in digital currencies. It is important for crypto users to do their research about a crypto project before investing their money, and to always be on the lookout for any signs of a potential scam or fraudulent activity.