May 3, 2024 at 01:44AM
Europol’s “Pandora” operation led to the shutdown of 12 phone scam centers and the arrest of 21 suspects. The network made thousands of daily scam calls, including fake police, investment, and romance scams. Thanks to a bank teller in Germany, investigators intercepted over 1.3 million scam conversations, ultimately saving victims over €10 million.
Based on the meeting notes, the key takeaways are:
1. Europol-led operation dubbed “Pandora” shut down a dozen phone scam centers and arrested 21 suspects.
2. The criminals operated call centers in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Lebanon, targeting victims with fake police calls, investment scams, and romance cons.
3. A bank teller in Germany, alarmed by a customer’s large cash withdrawal request, uncovered a fake police scam, leading to the arrest of a scammer.
4. German investigators traced over 1.3 million scam calls to call centers run by criminals, and saved victims over €10 million, intercepting over 80 percent of the scam calls.
5. The criminal call centers in different countries specialized in different types of fraud, such as debt-collection fraud in Bosnia-Herzegovina, banking fraud in Kosovo, investment scams in Albania, and prepaid card fraud in Lebanon.
6. Europol’s operation on April 18 resulted in the shutdown of 12 call centers, arrests of 21 individuals, and the recovery of assets totaling €1 million.
These takeaways provide a comprehensive summary of the key points discussed in the meeting notes.