Hungary, Ukraine dismantle call center fraud targeting EU citizens
HUNGARY — Hungarian police have cracked down on extensive Ukraine-led fraud operations, revealing that call centers played a pivotal role in orchestrating sophisticated scams targeting European Union (EU) citizens, resulting in millions of euros lost.
These call centers, staffed by thousands, were central hubs for crypto fraud, fake banking impersonations, and money laundering schemes.
Cross-border money laundering
“Ukrainians also operated online money laundering networks, with Ukrainians at the top of the criminal hierarchy laundering the money stolen from their victims through Hungarian front men,” said Bence Retvari, a member of the National Assembly of Hungary.
Ukrainian criminal groups exploited their business process outsourcing (BPO) infrastructure to run advanced fraud schemes, including fake crypto investments and remote access scams where victims’ computers were hacked to drain bank accounts—demonstrating the call centers’ integral role in executing these scams.
Retravi posted on his social media page and states that, “The largest illegal call center network ever to exist also operated in Ukraine, calling Hungarians on behalf of banks and defrauding them of their money.”
In one instance, a victim lost over €255,115 (US$ 291,050) through a crypto scam coordinated via these call centers, highlighting their operational scale and sophistication.
These centers not only coordinated scams but also masked international calls and managed communications that enabled money laundering across borders.
Crackdowns and implications on call center operations
Hungarian authorities, alongside international partners, have identified 169 suspects and issued warrants for key organizers behind these scams.
Retvari said, “International arrest warrants had been issued for several organizers who were involved in money laundering, data theft, operating fake call centers, and market scams.”
Despite arrests, the scale and complexity of the call center networks, spread across Ukraine and Europe, pose ongoing challenges.
Similar operations have been disrupted by Ukrainian cyber police and other European agencies, underscoring large-scale online fraud across the continent.
This case highlights how call centers can be exploited as sophisticated fraud hubs, leveraging BPO infrastructure and cross-border networks to execute large-scale scams—demanding stricter cross-border cybersecurity to dismantle such networks before they escalate.
