A long-running international operation to disrupt a multimillion-dollar investment fraud operation scored another impressive victory this week after police seized 100 servers and shuttered several scam websites.
Led by the German Itzehoe Public Prosecutor's Office, the action day on November 3 targeted the company believed to be responsible for hosting the fraudulent investment websites.
Victims were lured to these sites by deceptive ads promising huge gains with no downside. After they recorded their interest, personal data would be shared by the company with criminal groups operating scam call centers, according to Europol.
Scammers impersonating brokers then used a variety of social engineering tactics to persuade the victims to invest their funds in the fictitious schemes. Online accounts set up to perpetrate the scheme apparently displayed illusory gains, persuading them to plough more money into the funds.
When victims asked to withdraw their money, brokers used delaying tactics to block payments before cutting contact and leaving them with no way to recover their funds, Europol claimed.
Investigators estimate losses to exceed €4m ($4.5m), with potential victims in as many as 50 countries.
Read more on investment fraud: Cops Arrest Suspected Multimillion-Dollar Fraud Mastermind.
Alongside the server seizures, the action day on Tuesday resulted in the arrest of seven suspects who will be extradited to Germany. Authorities also searched 17 locations and seized other evidence and assets.
The operation involved cooperation from Albania, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Israel, Kosovo, and North Macedonia, highlighting the transnational nature of this fraud scheme. Scam call centers have been identified in Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia, according to Europol.
Four Years in the Making
The case dates back to 2022, when a German couple complained to local authorities that they couldn’t withdraw their funds from an investment scheme they had enrolled in.
An action day on September 6, 2022, led to searches in Belgium and Latvia, and the arrest of two suspects. Evidence was seized which helped police identify seven other members of the network, including the managers of call centers which were used in the scams.
Another action day came on May 13, 2025, when police conducted eight searches simultaneously in Albania, Cyprus and Israel. That resulted in the arrest of one suspect in Cyprus and the seizure of more evidence including electronic devices, documents and cash, Europol said at the time.
Police are not claiming, as they have done in the past, to have dismantled the network.
According to the FBI, investment fraud was the highest-grossing cybercrime type in 2025, amassing nearly $8.7bn for cybercriminals. Other schemes that have come to light in Europe over recent years include an €89m ($100m) ring that was smashed in 2023 and a financial crime organization that made €15m ($17m) until it was disrupted in 2021.