European Union Forms Task Force to Address Cross-border Crypto Fraud

Crypto scammers are increasingly rampant in Europe. (photo: twitter @immunefi)

JAKARTA - At the end of 2022, scammers shifted their focus to defrauding crypto investors who were desperately trying to recoup their year-long losses. An international law enforcement operation led by a European government agency joined with crypto entrepreneurs and businesses to curb cross-border crypto scams since July 2022, exposing criminal networks operating through call centers.

Europol and Eurojust, two EU agencies for law enforcement cooperation, joined forces from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, and Serbia to investigate online investment fraud since June 2022. The investigation identified a criminal network that caused more than $2.1 million in losses (IDR 31.7 billion), mainly for German investors.

1/ All of you have been waiting to hear more from elite whitehat hackers on the https://t.co/cmmXFjwmfD.

Enter @kankodu, from India, who currently ranks in 19th place, and is just 24 years old!

Here is his #whitehatsuccess story.

(Img is AI-generated) pic.twitter.com/oUXYgbqr8K

— Immunefi (@immunefi) January 4, 2023

According to Europol, scammers lure victims from Germany, Switzerland, Australia and Canada, among others, to invest in fraudulent crypto investment schemes and websites. These findings eventually led to the creation of an operational task force devoted to cross-border investigations.

Operating out of four call centers in eastern Europe, the scammer lures potential victims by offering lucrative returns on small investments, which motivates them to make larger investments. Considering the number of unreported cases, Europol suspects the total losses could be hundreds of millions of euros.

During the investigation, 261 people, two in Bulgaria, two in Cyprus, three in Germany and 214 in Serbia who had been questioned at 22 locations in the EU were searched and 30 people arrested. Hardware wallets, cash, vehicles, electronic equipment and documents were also seized.

While scammers continue to impersonate government and business authorities, the crypto community maintains a proactive approach to weakening scammers through proactive warning announcements, hack prevention fixes, and educating the general public.

A report from bug bounty and security services platform Immunefi revealed that the crypto industry lost a total of USD 3.9 billion (IDR 59 trillion) in 2022.

Of these lots, 95.6% of the total losses were due to hacking, temporary fraud, scams, and rough pulls made up the remaining 4.4%. BNB and Ethereum chains are the most targeted blockchains.

Mitchell Amador, CEO of Immunefi, reported by Cointelegraph, suggests “proactively identifying and addressing vulnerabilities” to protect the community and rebuild trust among investors.