KHARKIV, Ukraine—Ukrainians are scamming Russians out of their life savings in an underground operation that steals money from Moscow’s citizens and donates it directly to Kyiv’s military. In call centers throughout Ukraine , the operation, known as “the Office,” equips workers with a headset, computer program, and the phone numbers of Russians. The Office is known to be operated by Ukraine’s organized crime groups and is part of a global scam that exists in countries like India and the Philippines, as well as inside of Russia .
Until Feb. 24, 2022, in Ukraine, the Office focused its scam on targets in Western countries like the U.S.
as well as various European Union-based companies. In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion, it shifted all of its work onto Russian civilians. The fraud begins with the victim receiving a call purportedly from a phone company seeking a payment, and ends with all of the money in their victims’ bank accounts being drained.
ADVERTISEMENT According to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Crime (GI-TOC), there may be thousands of scam call centers throughout Ukraine as examples of “patriotic criminals”—pro-Ukrainian criminals that are working to support Kyiv’s war efforts—which have proliferated since the invasion. Some of the so-called patriotic criminals are donating thousands of dollars to Ukraine’s military, the Daily Beast has previously reported. The criminals’ wartime contributions range from delivering aid an.