In an investigation that spanned over two years, authorities successfully dismantled the cybercrime group, which was allegedly operating several call centres in Tirana, Albania. The criminal group is believed to have caused significant financial damage totalling over EUR 50 million.

Inside a scam call centre

The online call centres run by the criminal network demonstrated a high level of organisation and professionalism, with a clear division of roles and hierarchical management, resembling legitimate business structures.

The individuals involved worked in groups of six to eight operators, organised by language (including German, English, Italian, Greek and Spanish), and targeted their respective national markets. Team leaders oversaw the daily activities of their teams, while each call centre had a manager responsible for coordinating and guiding the team leaders and overall operations. Operators received a monthly salary of approximately EUR 800, along with a progressive commission for each successful scam, paid partly in cash and partly by bank transfer.

This level of professionalism enabled large-scale, cross-border fraud operations. The suspects are believed to have deceived victims by presenting false investment opportunities and convincing them that the funds they transferred would be invested on their behalf. As a result of these fraudulent schemes, victims transferred significant sums of money, estimated to exceed EUR 50 million.

When one scam leads to another

Alarmingly, the perpetrators re-contacted victims who had already suffered losses through fraudulent platforms, offering to help them recover their funds. Interested individuals were instructed to open accounts on cryptocurrency platforms and make an initial deposit of EUR 500. The operators, who used usernames and operated under pseudonyms, persuaded victims to make this initial payment in the hope of scamming them again.

Cross-border joint investigation

After a large number of victims were reported in Vienna around June 2023, Austrian authorities opened an investigation that uncovered the involvement of several Albanian nationals in cyber fraud schemes. Shortly thereafter, Austrian and Albanian authorities began a joint investigation with the support of Eurojust and its Western Balkans Criminal Justice Project. In addition to setting up a joint investigation team (JIT), Eurojust assisted with coordination meetings, funding for the action day and through the Western Balkans Criminal Justice Project, interpretation services.

Europol’s experts deployed to support the operational measures helped securing large volumes of data relevant to the criminal investigations. This data will subsequently be shared with the investigating authorities of other affected countries. To support the action day, a Virtual Command Post (VCP) was established to facilitate the exchange of data and evidence.

The joint action carried out on 17 April 2026 resulted in the arrest of 10 individuals in Tirana, Albania. Searches took place at three call centres and nine private residences, resulting in the seizure of:

• EUR 891 735
• 443 computers
• 238 mobile phones
• 6 laptops
• HDDs and DVRs, which will undergo further forensic examination

The actions were carried out by the following authorities:

• Austria: Federal Criminal Intelligence Service, Public Prosecutor‘s Office for combatting economic crimes and corruption
• Albania: Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of First Instance of General Jurisdiction, Tirana; Cybercrime Investigation Directorate of the Albanian State Police