Cybercrime Southeast Europe Newsletter No. 22

Cybercrime Southeast Europe

Dear Clients,

We would like to share important and positive news with you. Authorities in Germany, with the assistance of Europol, have successfully dismantled the largest known scam network involving call centers, which were located in the countries of the Western Balkans and Lebanon.

Thomas Strobl, the Minister of the Interior of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, announced that on April 18, German law enforcement, in cooperation with Europol and local police forces, conducted raids on 12 call centers in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Lebanon, resulting in the arrest of 20 individuals.

One of the call centers was located in Novi Pazar, Serbia. The criminals posed as family members or officials from government and financial institutions, demanding money from victims under various pretexts, including false claims of needing urgent help or facing unexpected troubles.

The scams were uncovered when a bank employee noticed an attempt to transfer €100,000 to an unknown foreign account. Since December, over one million calls have been recorded, with scams occurring in 6,000 cases, causing damage exceeding €10 million.

Minister Strobl emphasized that these criminal acts are particularly vile as they exploit people’s fears and misfortunes for gain, and announced that authorities will employ all available legal measures against the perpetrators.

This operation represents a significant step in combating fraud and helps protect our community from such criminal activities. If you have any doubts or have experienced similar scams, please reach out to us for assistance and support.

Sincerely
Attorney Zoran Miljaković