Nine arrested in Ukraine for running social media phishing scams

Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), in close cooperation with the Ukrainian National Police (Національна поліція України) and the Finnish Police (Poliisi), has dismantled an organised crime group composed of nine Ukrainian nationals.

The suspects were targeting individuals on social media and are accused of running a sophisticated phishing scheme to steal funds from European citizens. Exploiting Facebook Marketplace, the criminals used phishing techniques to trick victims into sharing their banking details, which were then used to transfer funds to accounts controlled by the group.

On 19 December, Ukrainian authorities carried out 10 searches in Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia, seizing computers and mobile devices containing evidence of fraudulent activities. Investigations have so far identified at least 30 victims from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Hungary, with total losses exceeding EUR 50 000.

Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre supported the investigation by facilitating the exchange of information and providing analytical support. During the action day, a Virtual Command Post set up by Europol enabled Ukrainian and Finnish authorities to share, in real time, information gathered during the house searches.

The Ukrainian National Police has released a news article outlining more details about the searches.