Security News > 2023 > April > Police disrupts $98M online fraud ring with 33,000 victims
Europol and Eurojust announced today the arrest of five individuals believed to be part of a massive online investment fraud ring with at least 33,000 victims who lost an estimated €89 million.
The fraudulent operation lured investors through web and social media banner ads, tricking their targets into committing small amounts of up to €250 as initial investments by promising big profits.
"The victims were then contacted by so-called personal financial advisors, who promised even higher profits on bigger investments. These higher investments were then subsequently lost, and the illegal profits were paid into the perpetrators' bank accounts," Europol said.
Last month's arrests followed and were enabled by evidence and information collected during 2021 coordinated actions in Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Ukraine that targeted the same fraudulent online trading platform for financial services with binary options.
Today's announcement comes after Ukraine's cyber police and Europol identified and arrested five key members of another international investment fraud ring behind estimated losses of more than €200 million annually.
These fake investment websites falsely promised to generate substantial profits for investors, persuading victims to invest further and fall into the scammers' trap.