Ukrainian law enforcement, in collaboration with their Czech counterparts, has completed a large-scale investigation against a criminal organization specializing in cryptocurrency fraud. The losses from the group’s activities exceed 1.5 million dollars, with victims including residents of the Czech Republic, Poland, and other European Union countries.
This is reported by Business • Media
Fraud Scheme: Phishing Websites and Cryptocurrency
The perpetrators created phishing resources that imitated well-known payment platforms. They posted their links on classified ad services selling goods, where they sought potential victims among sellers. The so-called “workers” sent these sellers fake links for supposedly receiving payments. After the sellers entered their banking details on the fraudulent websites, the money from their accounts was immediately transferred to cards controlled by the criminals, and part of the funds was instantly converted into cryptocurrencies.
Organized Structure of the Criminal Group
The criminal organization consisted of up to 20 individuals with clearly defined roles. Some members were responsible for recruiting “workers” through popular messaging apps, while others handled the creation and administration of phishing platforms, technical support, processing payment information, and withdrawing money. At the conclusion of the investigation, losses were confirmed for 19 victims, exceeding 1.5 million hryvnias.
“The victims included citizens of the Czech Republic, Poland, and other EU countries.”
Members of the criminal organization have been charged with creating a criminal group and fraud. For these offenses, they face up to 12 years in prison with asset confiscation.
It was previously reported that two men face up to 40 years in prison for another case of cryptocurrency fraud amounting to 650 million dollars.