"Five Arrests in Crackdown on $98m Investment Fraud Gang"

European police have recently arrested five individuals in an attempt to bust a criminal network believed to have made $98m from tens of thousands of victims through investment fraud.  According to Europol, some 33 German law enforcers teamed up with their peers in Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, and Israel to search 15 locations, including five illegal call centers.  Europol noted that the two action days in March were a follow-up to operations undertaken against the same criminal gang in 2021 and enabled police to glean new evidence that revealed a much larger cost to victims than the 15m euros first estimated.  Europol stated that the fraudsters lured potential victims through legitimate-looking website advertising and social media, encouraging them to make small initial investments of between 200–250 euros.  Contact center workers then called the individuals, tricking them with fake “graphics” showing the purportedly large profits they’d already made and promising even bigger returns if they invested more.  Europol claimed that persistently low interest rates at the time of the scheme (2019–21) made the high-risk investments more attractive to the victims.  In reality, their funds went straight to the gang members’ bank accounts.  In the latest crackdown, police seized high-value assets, including luxury watches, electronic equipment, cash, bitcoins, bank cards, and various documents.  An estimated 33,000 victims lost money to the gang.  Investment fraud cost victims an estimated $3.3bn in 2022, making it the highest-grossing cybercrime category that year.

Infosecurity reports: "Five Arrests in Crackdown on $98m Investment Fraud Gang"