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- Euro just busted a multimillion-euro call center crypto scam.
- Victims were lured into investing and then deceived.
- Prevention is better than cure.
Wherever finance is involved, some bad actors try to take advantage of novice and weak, loot them of their valuables with every means possible and abscond with the ill-gains. Eurojust, EU’s cross-border agency for fighting organized crime, had busted one such operation in Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Serbia that defrauded customers with tens of millions of euros.
Such scams, especially those involving crypto, are mainly popular within the underworld as they can easily target the victims, luring them into making sizable investments upfront. All this can be done from the comfort of a couch or home, according to the press release by the authority on Friday.
How did they work?
The unnamed network professionally operated call centers, where they used to contact potential victims into investing with them. To win their trust, they initially started with smaller amounts and even provided them with gains; this let them believe in the organization, and they would then invest a bigger amount which was gone.
The statement by Eurojust: “The network operated professionally to set up call centers, which defrauded numerous victims in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Australia, and Canada for at least tens of millions of euros.”
The organization operated the call centers from Serbia, utilizing technical infrastructure in Bulgaria, and laundered the proceeds in Cyprus.
What’s next?
The law enforcement agencies had thoroughly searched four different call centers and 18 places and arrested 14 people in Serbia and one in Germany. They interviewed more than 250 people persons and confiscated 150 computers, some electronic equipment, three cars, two luxury apartments, 50,000 euros in cash, and $1 million in cryptocurrencies.
Similar incidents were uncovered in Italy and Albania, which was worth 15 million euros.
How to avoid being a victim of such a con?
There is a very old saying; prevention is better than cure. Authorities and lawmakers across the globe are working tirelessly to find the cure, but it will take its due course to fully deploy; till then, all that is left is prevention.
Be Cautious
Not only in crypto, but in general perspective also, one must be very cautious while investing. Closely Should closely monitor and study the options, ask the experts, and be absolutely sure before investing.
Too good to be true
There is a threshold above which no financial instrument can provide gains. These limits vary from instrument to instrument, but if they provide maxim returns with minimum risk in some scenarios, beware, it could be a sham.
Knowledge
The only weapon that can save is knowledge; gain as much knowledge as possible about managing finances, understanding the investment options, risks involved, and profits gains. One can be duped even after having tons of knowledge, discussing with the community, and building a network; these might act as your safety net.
Invest the amount you can forget
It is advisable to invest the amount you can to forget its existence. Start with a small amount, keep a considerable backup, and always play safe.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
