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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
In Lviv region, organizers of a fraudulent call center were for the first time in Ukraine charged with creating it — what could this case mean for other 'offices'? — Read on.
In the Lviv region, three young men were detained and informed of Ukraine's first suspicion for creating a fraudulent call center. According to law enforcement, a Striy-based group used fake female profiles on dating services to gain access to interlocutors' devices and drain money from their accounts. The suspects now face up to 15 years in prison.
Romantic correspondence, a feminine voice, and photographs — according to the investigation, this is how the victims were lured. Yet behind the attractive profiles were group members whose aim was the interlocutors' bank accounts.
The organized group was exposed in Striy, Lviv region. The case was worked on by cyberpolice, investigators of the regional police department, and officers of the regional SBU administration. Prosecution supervision was carried out by the Lviv regional prosecutor's office.
According to law enforcement, this is the first suspicion in Ukraine specifically for creating a fraudulent call center. It concerns a particular case in which online dating, according to the investigation, became an instrument to steal funds.
Group members created fake female accounts and established communication with Ukrainian citizens. Among the victims were Ukrainians who were in the Czech Republic and Poland. To make the fabricated personas more convincing, they used special software to change a male voice to a female voice.
When interlocutors began to trust the new acquaintance, they sent content containing malicious software. Law enforcement reports photos with hidden RAT — a tool for remote device control. According to the investigation, they used it to gain covert control over the gadgets.
Thus the suspects gained access to confidential information. Police reports that this also allowed them to bypass two-factor authentication when logging into online banking and to siphon funds. The obtained money, according to the investigation, was converted into cryptocurrency for further laundering.
Cyber police reported the detention of three young men and their being served with suspicions. The charges carry up to 15 years in prison. At the time of the report, the question of choosing restraint measures in the form of custody was being decided.
Whether this case will mark the beginning of the end for fraudulent 'offices' remains an open question. For now, information is known about the exposure of a specific group and informing its members of suspicions; drawing conclusions about stopping other call centers would be premature.
As a reminder, StopCor previously reported the exposure of a probable fraudulent call center on Mykhailivska Street in Kyiv. According to journalists, about 40 people were involved, and the 'office' activity targeted residents of European countries. StopCor
Also, StopKor journalists together with the police uncovered a call center in the Spassky business center in the capital's Podil district. According to the publication, about 55 workplaces were equipped there.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Перша в Україні підозра за кол-центр: початок кінця шахрайських "офісів"?". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: СтопКор.
