Raid against the largest call center fraud team in Europe: 21 arrests!

Raid against the largest call center fraud team in Europe: 21 arrests!

In Germany, the combating of call center fraud is increasingly accepting forms. On April 14, 2025, the indictment against two alleged call center fraudsters from Kosovo was raised. The two defendants, 33 and 26 years old, have to answer in several cases before the Ellwangen district court for commercial gang fraud. The total damage that has been documented so far amounts to 98,800 euros, whereby the fraud calls nationwide, especially in cities such as the Ostalbkreis, Biberach, Emsland, and Kiel, took place. These developments were reported by Stern

The operation “Pandora” was a significant success in the fight against organized crimes. Investigations caused by an attentive bank employee led to the breakdown of a large network of telephone fraudsters in five countries. A total of twelve call centers were excavated and numerous arrests were carried out. The German police received support from the security authorities in Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo and Lebanon. According to DW a total of 21 people were arrested on April 18, including several main players in fraud. Thomas Strobl, the interior minister of Baden-Württemberg, praised the officials for the effective measures and the detection of fraud.

fraud stitches and procedure of the perpetrators

The fraudsters cleverly proceeded by exposing themselves as close relatives, bank employees or even police officers. Manipulation tactics that were used contained threats with incorrect criminal consequences and promise of profits. These stitches were so perfidious that in many cases they led to unsuspecting citizens transferred high sums to comply with alleged demands. The victims were often ripped off via fake bank websites to get their access data.

The investigation led to the realization that the 33-year-old defendant operated his call center since September 2023, while the 26-year-old defendant from Neumünster was responsible for recruiting and looking after financial agents. The funds obtained by the fraudsters were transferred on accounts of these financial agents to blur the trail of the funds. This was analyzed and presented in detail by Tagesschau

success and outlook of the investigation

The police were not only able to close several call centers during the raids, but also ensure over 1 million euros in assets. In real time, 1.3 million telephone fraud talks were monitored, which enabled the police to intervene immediately in about 6,000 fraud attempts and thus prevent damage of an estimated 10 million euros. The evidence collected, consisting of electronic data, handwritten notes and cash, are now intensively evaluated in order to reveal other structures of the fraudsters and identify other perpetrators.

The "Pandora" operation to date is one of the largest of its kind in Europe and impressively shows the need for international cooperation in the fight against cybercrime. In total, more than 100 investigators have been working in layers since December 2023 to smash this perfidious network and to protect the victims of the fraud.