Eastern European call centre scam targeted Irish, say gardaí

Police arrest more than 100 people in Riga and Vilnius last week on suspicion of being involved in an international call centre scam

Up to 200 fake ‘traders’ attached to the gang would call unsuspecting victims to persuade them to part with their savings by making investments which were fake.

A multi-million euro international call centre scam unearthed in eastern Europe in recent days is expected to have Irish people among its victims across the world.

That is according to Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau. Police in Latvia and Lithuania arrested over 100 people in Riga and Vilnius late last week on suspicion of being involved in an international call centre scam.

Police raided three call centres belonging to the same organised crime gang in the operation on March 24 and 25, according to Europol.

Up to 200 fake ‘traders’, speaking English, Russian, Polish and Hindi, attached to the gang would call unsuspecting victims to persuade them to part with their savings by making investments in bitcoin, commodities and foreign currencies which were fake.

Detective Superintendent Cryan said: “The fact that they had people speaking English means it has to be targeting people in Ireland and England really – maybe the US, but mainly Ireland and England.” 

He was speaking as gardaí are warning people to be wary of investment fraud opportunities. There was a 67% increase in reports of investment fraud in 2021 compared to the previous year, up from 140 reports in 2020 to 234 last year. €12.4m was taken from unsuspecting investors in Ireland last year.

According to gardaí, almost 50% of victims of investment fraud are aged over 55, with 63% being male.

Gardaí said that romance fraud is increasing more and more, with people on dating sites meeting people who either offer them financial advice, or who tell them they need money after some mishap has befallen them.

Pig butchery

Detective Superintendent Cryan said a new term is emerging in respect of investment fraud, particularly romance fraud. Now increasingly known as pig butchery, in which the prospective victim is the “pig” and the “butchery” is the act of taking the money from them. The term “fattening the pig” refers to the grooming of the person before they are eventually persuaded to part with their money for investment.

A statement from An Garda Siochana said: “At a time when the cost of living is on the rise, these sophisticated criminals are making the most of online opportunities such as increased traffic and social media adverts to target more victims. Virtual currencies are high risk and unregulated in this country, so you should always check the regulatory status of the company you are dealing with before parting with any of your money.”

Gardaí advise:

• Don’t invest until you get reliable financial and legal advice 
• Check the regulatory status of the company on the Central Bank of Ireland’s website 
• Don’t respond to pop-up/social media ads or messages with wild claims about investment returns 
• Ignore unsolicited approaches or cold calls about investments 
• Beware of celebrity-endorsed investments – they may not even know that their name is being used 
• Be wary of fake wallets (for storing your cryptocurrency) – these can be scams for malware to infect or control your computer 
• Do not click on links for websites you don’t know (is the site HTTPS secured even?) 
• NEVER allow anyone remote access to your computer (or download Apps that give others control of your computer) 
• NEVER EVER disclose personal data or bank account passwords or codes.