The police produced 15 arrests, interrogated more than 260 people, conducted searches in four call centers and more than a dozen residential buildings. As it turned out during the investigation, the attackers worked in Germany, Serbia, Bulgaria and Cyprus.
Law enforcement agencies seized three hardware wallets with a cryptocurrency worth more than $ 1 million and more than 50,000 euros in cash, as well as three cars, various electronic equipment, backups of data and documents.
The Europol statement says that the suspects advertised themselves on social networks to lure victims on crypto investment sites controlled by their accomplices. At first, the victims (mostly the Germans) invested small three -digit amounts, and then were fake jumps in prices and the persuasion of attackers who convinced them to invest even more money.
According to law enforcement officers, fraudsters earned more than 2 million euros for Germany alone. And total losses can be calculated by hundreds of millions, since attackers worked in several countries of Eastern Europe.