Police officers from several countries have intervened against what is probably Europe’s largest network of telephone fraudsters, according to the German authorities.
The network is said to be responsible for thousands of phone calls every day where they attempt to defraud people.
Police officers from Germany, Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo and Lebanon campaigned on 18 April against twelve call centers where they arrested 21 people, according to Europol. The German authorities state that it was also campaigned in Serbia.
The investigators have succeeded in “uncovering what is probably the most widespread telephone fraud plan in Europe”, says the German state of Baden-Württemberg’s interior minister Thomas Strobl.
The bank employee became suspicious
The fraudsters pretended to be “close relatives, bank employees, customer service staff or police officers” when they called, according to Europol. They used several tactics to “shock and deceive” people into giving up their savings, it says.
The investigation began in December when a customer at a bank in Baden-Württemberg asked to withdraw a large sum in cash. A bank employee became suspicious and notified the police, who prevented the bank customer from handing over his money to the fraudsters.
Alerted possible fraud victims
The police then linked the phone numbers used by the fraudsters to a larger operation, and the investigation was widened. Over 100 German police officers were tasked with listening to conversations in real time around the clock.
Potential fraud victims were notified by the police, and in around 6,000 cases they prevented a total of 10 million euros, just over NOK 118 million, from being given away to the crooks.
Tags: Scams Phone Scams German action Europes largest telephone fraud networks
