Network used call centers to impersonate brokers.
Law enforcement agencies have dismantled a transnational crime syndicate that defrauded over 100 individuals of more than €3 million.
The agencies from five countries, with support from Europol and Eurojust, saw the takedown of those who had defrauded via fake investment schemes.
Europol said the network used call centers to impersonate brokers, enticing victims with phony investment returns and fabricated profit visuals to encourage larger deposits. While two suspects were arrested during a 2022 operation, a second wave of action in May 2025 led to additional arrests and evidence seizures.
This case sheds light on the growing threat of investment fraud, which the FBI identified as the top-earning cybercrime in 2024, outpacing even business email compromise schemes and often overlapping with romance-based scams.
Written by
Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with 25 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 17 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.
He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Forum, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and the National Cyber Security Show, and served as editor of SC Media UK, Infosecurity Magazine and IT Security Guru. He was also an analyst with 451 Research and a product marketing lead at Tenable.
