Europol cracks down crypto call center fraud

Europol has announced that it was able to take down call centers engaging in fraudulent cryptocurrency sales across Europe, Canada, and Australia during a cross-border operation that was launched last June, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. Groups from at least four call centers in Cyprus, Bulgaria, and Serbia have been disrupted by the operation, resulting in the seizure of three digital wallets with nearly $1 million worth of cryptocurrency, as well as $54,000 in cash, three automobiles, computers, and documents. Attackers may have exfiltrated "hundreds of millions of euros" from the pig butchering cryptocurrency scheme, which involves investments in fake cryptocurrencies, noted Europol. The Europol crackdown comes two months after the U.S. Department of Justice took down seven pig butchering domains, resulting in $10 million in losses. Pig butchering attacks have become more prevalent in recent years, with the FBI reporting more than 4,300 complaints in 2021, resulting in losses exceeding $429 million.