"Protothema": Mafia call centers/The company based in Tirana that robbed Europeans

2026-05-05 09:27:00, Aktualitet CNA

"Protothema": Mafia call centers/The company based in Tirana that

The well-known Greek media outlet 'Protothema' has published a detailed article regarding the case of call centers in Tirana, involved in a fraud ring.

The trick

The fraud network, headquartered in Tirana, had spread its tentacles to various countries in Europe, including Greece. Although Europol and Eurojust do not reveal details, such as the real number of victims of the phone scam related to cryptocurrency investments, the crazy profits, etc., it is certain that a significant part of the 50 million euro loot that the Albanian network extracted comes from the bank accounts of naive Greek citizens.

The scammers' modus operandi is stereotypical and, paradoxically, well-known, so it's surprising how victims continue to be lured: The targeted mobile phone rings. The screen shows a number that is either Greek with the country code +30 or from another country, beyond any doubt, such as Belgium or Britain. In reality, the call is made from Tirana. A polite voice introduces itself as a representative of a multinational investment advisory firm. It promises immediate and large profits, but above all, guaranteed.

If the victim has already lost money in similar investments, the investment advisor claims that, under his guidance, not only will the lost money be recovered, but additional profits will also be made. Once the “investor” falls for the bait, the way to take him out of the game is open. The expectation of profiting from previous scams has blinded hundreds of Greeks, who are gradually being lured into transferring funds to the supposedly trustworthy international investment company for the purchase of cryptocurrencies, etc.

Methodological scheme

The organizational scheme of the operation started at the lowest level, the investment "advisors" or "agents", usually those who hunted and fished for victims through random phone calls. These "headhunters" were paid 800 euros per month plus any commission from cases where the victim continued to transfer money. The fraudsters worked in teams of 6-8 members. Each of them took on a specific market, depending on the native language of the "advisors".

Thus, there were teams communicating with potential victims in English, German, Italian, Spanish and Greek. Furthermore, each group of investment agents was under the control and supervision of a manager, who in turn was responsible to his superior, the manager of the respective call center. Thanks to this classic hierarchical structure, the call center business in Albania operated efficiently for several years, managing to expand its activities, as evidenced by the total turnover of 50 million euros.

The first and crucial step on the part of the scammers was to deposit 500 euros into a digital cryptocurrency wallet. The so-called advisors, who of course used pseudonyms and codes, took the initial transfer of 500 euros as a free pass signal to "bite" their victims at will and with virtually no restrictions.

complaints

However, perhaps because the fraudsters believed they had found an inexhaustible source to exploit, in June 2023 there was an increasing concentration of complaints from victims of the same network in the Vienna area. Since then, the countdown to dismantling the network has essentially begun. The cyber fraud prosecution services from Austria and Albania, in close cooperation with Europol and Eurojust, set up a task force, which closely monitored the activity of the network of fake investment advisors. The digital trail eventually led to the Albanian capital, both to 3 office buildings and 9 private homes, where, in addition to the arrests, 443 desktop computers and 6 laptops, 238 mobile phones, digital media for data storage and 891,735 euros were seized.

However, for Europol and any national or international agency prosecuting electronic fraud, the Albanian network of call centers is expected to be used as a model for study and analysis. For how a criminal organization can be structured according to the standards of a legitimate, dynamically developing and very profitable business.