One of Kyiv-based scam call centers

Scam call centers operate in Ukraine,^[1][2][3][4] including major cities such as Kyiv and Dnipro. Under Article 190 of Criminal Code of Ukraine, the activities of these call centers are considered illegal.^[5] According to Sberbank, the "capital" of phone fraud is Dnipro,^[6] and up to 95% of calls originate from Ukraine to Russians.^[7]

These organized cells specialize in fraudulent schemes aimed at extracting funds from citizens. Scammers may call individuals, posing as bank and mobile operator security personnel, to obtain card information and SMS codes for the purpose of misappropriating victims' funds. After obtaining data supposedly meant to prevent fraud, scammers siphon money from victims and transfer it to specific accounts. The operations of such groups are not confined to Ukraine and Russia but target countries with a significant Russian-speaking population, such as Kazakhstan, Poland, and the Czech Republic. However, there are also call centers focused on English-speaking countries.^[3]

According to the Geneva-based Global Initiative, which monitors such activities, the proceeds from fraudulent call centers often do not contribute to the development of the Ukrainian economy but are transferred to offshore accounts or cryptocurrencies to avoid taxation.^[1]

International media and organizations such as The Times of Israel, Dagens Nyheter, and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), have exposed information about scam call centers based in Kyiv. One of the companies associated with these call centers is named "Milton Group".

Ukrainian scam call centers have played a significant role in Russians' calls to set fire to Russian military units. In December 2022, Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) issued a warning about Ukrainian scam calls, saying that scammers "incline gullible citizens to commit arson attacks on social infrastructure facilities, as well as cars in crowded places". According to the FSB, most of these arsonists were told that they were participating in an operation to catch pro-Ukrainian criminals.^[8][9]

In August 2023, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued official warnings about a new form of phone fraud in which Russians are forced to set fire to military enlistment offices through pressure or deception. The authorities claim that scammers call from the territory of Ukraine and choose elderly Russians as their victims. The attackers pose as bank employees or police officers, tell interlocutors that they are trying to steal their money or have already been stolen, or simply threaten trouble or even murder relatives and friends, and then demand to set fire to "military, transport or banking infrastructure facilities".^[10][11] Russian liberal business newspaper Kommersant claims that fraudsters support the Armed Forces of Ukraine and organize "terrorist attacks".^[12]

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