"European Police Take Down $9m Vishing Gang"

Police in Ukraine and Czechia recently claimed to have disrupted a multimillion-dollar fraud gang that called victims impersonating bank staff, using classic voice phishing (vishing) techniques.  Europol claimed that the group may have made tens of millions of euros by defrauding victims across the region.  It said the cost to Czech victims alone is estimated to be $9m.  Europol noted that ten suspects were arrested in April this year, six in Ukraine and four in Czechia.  Homes, vehicles, and call centers in Czechia (Domazlice, Rokycany, and Plzen) and Ukraine (Dnipropetrovsk) were searched by local investigators supported by Europol.  Mobile phones, SIM cards, and computer equipment were seized during the operation.  Europol noted that operating from call centers located in Ukraine, the fraud gang targeted mainly banking customers in Czechia, impersonating employees at their banks as well as police officers.  They used spoofed phone numbers to add an air of legitimacy to their scams.  After gaining the trust of the victims, the scammers persuaded them that their accounts had been "compromised" and that they had to transfer the funds to "safe" accounts which were controlled by the group.

Infosecurity reports: "European Police Take Down $9m Vishing Gang"