Large raid against call center fraudsters: 170 suspects in their sights!

Large raid against call center fraudsters: 170 suspects in their sights!

Österreich - On June 4, 2025, the Dresden public prosecutor carried out a large-scale investigation against an international call center fraud gang. The raid aims at more than 170 accused who are suspected of having committed commercial and gang fraud as well as money laundering in over 30,000 cases. The damage that the perpetrators have caused amounts to at least eight million euros, as Krone reports.

Five raids were carried out in Austria, with a suspect being arrested. The state criminal offices from Lower Austria, Upper Austria and Tyrol took part in the measures. There were also three arrest warrants who affect two Greeks and a Turk. At the same time, searches in over 35 living and business premises in Germany, Greece, Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia took place.

target group and fraud stitches

The accused often gave themselves out as bank employees or police officers to cheat unsuspecting people. To do this, they use fake collections, court resolutions, reminders and supposed gambling. Older people were particularly targeted both in Germany and abroad, since they are often more susceptible to attempts at fraud, so [Consumer Protection Forum] (https:// consumer protection forum.berlin/2025-06-03/grossrazzia against-internal-callcenter-uber-170-verdaechtigen-im-visier-372808/).

call center fraud is a central phenomenon that is often organized by perpetrators from Turkey or Eastern Europe. Typical procedures are the "grandchildren's trick" and "shock call", in which the perpetrators pretend to be relatives or emergency doctors, or they pretend to be police officers and require money to "secure" assets. These tactics show an alarming trend within the fraud, as the Federal Criminal Police Office documents in its reports.

Current trends in fraud crime

The fraud crime in Germany decreased by 1.5 percent to 743,472 cases in 2024, which corresponds to a decrease of 23.2 percent since 2010. However, 513,518 fraud cases from abroad were registered in 2024. 55.3 percent of the perpetrators use the Internet, which represents a slight decline compared to previous years, so bka.

The highest display rate of around 40 percent is in fraud cases in which the perpetrators pretend to be other people. In contrast, the display rate for goods and service fraud on the Internet is only 22 percent and 15 percent outside of the Internet. In view of these developments, the police and these law enforcement authorities adapt their strategies and intensify international cooperation.

In addition, prevention measures are strengthened by information events to sensitize endangered groups, especially older people. Citizens are encouraged to be suspicious of rapid money and not to pass on valuables to unknown persons. Using independent phone numbers to contact relatives or the police is also one of the recommended security precautions.