Police: At least 2,000 Finnish victims of international crypto scam | News

Finnish authorities say that victims in Finland lost at least 6.6 million euros to cryptocurrency scammers.

Police say there are still no Finnish suspects in the case. Photo: Marcin Rogozinski/Alamy/All Over Press

Finnish police teamed up with European colleagues to investigate a large-scale fraud scheme in which victims were lured into investing in suspect currencies.

The authorities say that hundreds of thousands of people have become victims of a criminal operation in different countries. In early November, the police carried out raids and arrested suspects in several countries.

To date, about 2,000 victims have been identified in Finland. Police estimate their losses to be at least 6.6 million euros, and say there could be more victims.

There are no Finnish suspects yet

Police say the scam was carried out by an organized criminal group abroad, and there are still no Finnish suspects in the case.

The director of detectives said, “We are not currently aware of any Finnish perpetrators being involved. However, we cannot say for sure until the matter is finally resolved.” Mikko Laaksonen From the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

The investment fraud is being investigated by a joint investigation team made up of authorities from 10 countries. In Finland, cases are being investigated by police departments across the country as well as by the National Bureau of Investigation, which has led international cooperation on this case.

Police say the scheme was carried out using call centers, where criminal operators called victims and invited them to make deceptive investments in cryptocurrency.

Five detainees in Albania and Georgia

The perpetrators used specially created investment platforms to defraud. Laaksonen declined to comment on how the victims chose to make phone calls.

“The process looked very professional, but this kind of fraud also happened in the past. As technology evolves, so does criminal activity. In the past, stock frauds were carried out in the same way,” Laaksonen told Yle on Wednesday. .

Earlier this month, law enforcement officials cracked down on scammers in Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, North Macedonia and Ukraine. They closed 15 call centers and detained five suspects in Albania and Georgia.

They also seized equipment, including hundreds of IT devices, as well as €340,000 in cash.

Laaksonen advised members of the public to always check a service provider’s details before making any investment and to check if it is listed on any official investment fraud warning websites.

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