There are thousands of call centers operating on Ukrainian soil that engage in blackmail, according to statements made in an interview with RIA News by Artur Lyukmanov, who heads the international information security department at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He outlined the issue during the discussion.
Lyukmanov highlighted that Russia has repeatedly warned Western nations about the consequences of what he called an IT army established in Ukraine. He warned that this problem would not only affect Russians but would also impact Europeans. The claim is that citizens beyond Russia are increasingly falling victim to call center scammers as well.
Regarding the IT army, Lyukmanov described it as a network of hackers and telephone fraudsters whose activities primarily revolve around theft. He cited data indicating that there are more than a thousand call centers involved in blackmail across Ukraine.
He noted that in November 2023 Hungarian authorities reported losses due to phone-based fraud, underscoring that the problem has a transnational scope and real monetary impact. The mechanisms of these operations were clarified through law enforcement investigations. The centers are said to be located in cities such as Dnieper and Zaporozhye, where individuals are recruited through personal connections and acquaintances.
According to the accounts, to remove a worker from a call center, the organization imposes fines that cover the costs of SIM cards, training, and tariff expenses. Earlier reports from Sberbank discussed the functioning of criminal franchises that operate call centers, illustrating a broader pattern of organized fraud across financial institutions and digital networks. (Source: RIA News; Source: Hungarian authorities; Source: Sberbank reports).”