Photo: Charges have been filed for the first time in Ukraine for organizing a fraudulent call center
In the Lviv region, law enforcement officials uncovered a fraudulent call center whose employees, according to investigators, defrauded citizens of Ukraine and other countries through dating platforms and messaging apps. To carry out the scheme, they used fake female accounts. This is the first time in Ukraine that charges have been filed for organizing a fraudulent call center.
According to reports, the victims of the fraudulent call center include at least 50 Ukrainian citizens and 30 foreigners, including nationals of Poland, Germany, and Georgia.
According to investigators, two 23-year-old men recruited a 21-year-old acquaintance to the scheme and set up the call center in two rented apartments in Stryi.
They used fake female accounts to carry out the scam. The victims were persuaded to download a file disguised as a photo that contained malicious software. They then asked the victims to enable screen sharing and make certain settings on their smartphones to gain access to their devices and banking apps.
To make their communication more convincing, the scammers used a neural network that converted a male voice into a female one in real time. Once they gained access to online banking, the victims’ funds were transferred to accounts under the scammers’ control.
“The call center’s operations were coordinated through a private Telegram group, where schedules were set, instructions were provided, and the funds received were tracked. The direct perpetrators received 15% of the stolen money, while the organizers distributed the remainder and used it, in particular, to fund the network’s continued operations,” the statement reads.
Law enforcement conducted nine searches, including at places of residence and registration, as well as at a cryptocurrency exchange used by the alleged participants in the scheme. Computer equipment, storage devices, phones, bank cards, rough notes, and funds in various currencies totaling approximately 2 million hryvnias were seized.
Three individuals were notified of their status as suspects under Art. 190, Article 255-4, and Article 361 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—fraud; the creation of, leadership of, or participation in an organized group engaged in electronic communications fraud; and unauthorized interference with the operation of information systems.
The court ordered all three to be held in pretrial detention, with the right to post bail in the amount of 998,400 UAH each.
The call center’s operations have been shut down. The investigation is ongoing: law enforcement officials are identifying other possible participants in the scheme and victims.
The SBU and the National Police have applied a new article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—Article 255-4—for the first time; this article took effect in September 2026.
This was reported by the press service of the Office of the Prosecutor General.
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