Online scams have recently caused more than eight billion forints in damages to private individuals.Continue reading
In recent months, police have cracked down on Ukrainian criminal groups committing various types of online fraud, Bence Rétvári, the Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced on his Facebook page on Thursday.
The politician wrote that the Ukrainian underworld’s “arsenal” includes scams worth hundreds of millions, crypto fraud, and fake package deliveries. According to the State Secretary, the police mapped out digital criminal organizations, front men, Ukrainian leaders, and call centers, identifying 169 Ukrainian suspects, including leaders, organizers, and front men who help the criminal organization launder money.
Bence Rétvári, photo: MTI/Máthé Zoltán
He emphasized that
international arrest warrants had been issued for several organizers who were involved in money laundering, data theft, operating fake call centers, and market scams.
Bence Rétvári mentioned specific cases, saying that in Hajdú-Bihar County, Ukrainian couriers carried out so-called crypto scams, during which they tricked a victim into investing around 255,115 euros (103 million forints). The emails were sent from Ukraine, and a courier was sent to collect the money. In May this year, the police set a trap and arrested the Ukrainian man who had arrived from Warsaw and was going to deliver the money for a fee of 300 euros, the State Secretary said.
He added that
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.
In Csongrád-Csanád County, a Ukrainian citizen ran a network in which telephone scammers posing as bank clerks asked their victims for remote access to their computers, then obtained their bank details and withdrew their money.
A telecommunications base was found to be operated by Ukrainian IT fraudsters who disguised international calls, and in Pest County, proceedings were also initiated against three Ukrainian organizers in 25 cases involving telephone scams, the State Secretary listed the specific cases.
In his post, Bence Rétvári also drew attention to the fact that a Ukrainian citizen was directing online market data theft using fake parcel delivery sites, thereby deceiving bona fide sellers on websites and stealing their bank details to withdraw money.
Four Ukrainian suspects caused approximately 371,500 euros (150 million forints) in damages in Veszprém County by defrauding 35 victims through telephone and online scams, while Ukrainians living in Slovakia called the victims pretending to be bank clerks and installed AnyDesk, a remote desktop application, on their computers and then carried out unauthorized transactions, the State Secretary said.
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,”
Rétvári said on his social media page.
Via MTI, Featured photo: MTI/Máthé Zoltán