Fraud with crypto wallets exposed in Odesa

In Odesa, law enforcement officers uncovered a large-scale international fraud scheme involving call centers, artificial intelligence, and crypto wallets. According to the investigation, the victims of the fraud were citizens of Kazakhstan, who were persuaded to voluntarily transfer access to their bank accounts.

This was reported by the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office.

In Odesa, law enforcement officers served nine people with a notice of suspicion in a large-scale fraud organized through call centers using artificial intelligence technologies. Investigators believe that the criminal scheme was aimed at citizens of Kazakhstan.

PHOTO: gp.gov.ua

According to the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office, the group's organizer and eight other alleged accomplices were served with suspicions. They are charged with creating and participating in a criminal organization, as well as fraud on a particularly large scale.

According to the investigation, two men aged 25 and 30 organized a criminal network in Odesa, involving young people aged 17 to 24.

The scheme consisted of group members calling Kazakh citizens, posing as employees of banks, law enforcement agencies or regulatory institutions. Under the pretext of updating applications, blocking accounts, or allegedly preventing the financing of a so-called "special military operation," they gained remote access to the victims' smartphones and banking services.

PHOTO: gp.gov.ua

After that, according to law enforcement, the money was transferred to controlled accounts and cryptocurrency wallets.

To implement the scheme, the offenders, according to the investigation, used CRM systems, mobile devices, special software and artificial intelligence tools. In particular, they used Deepfake technology to imitate the appearance and voices of representatives of law enforcement agencies and the National Bank of Kazakhstan.

Coordination of work, distribution of roles and transfer of information about potential victims were carried out through closed Telegram channels. The movement of illegally obtained funds was also monitored there.

PHOTO: gp.gov.ua

So far, law enforcement officers have documented at least six episodes of fraud that took place between December 2025 and February 2026. At the same time, investigators are establishing the full amount of damage caused, the number of victims and possible involvement of other persons.

In April, a cryptocurrency fraud scheme was also exposed in Odesa, which brought tens of thousands of dollars to the organizers every month. Under the guise of "profitable investments," the scammers lured access to wallets and instantly withdrew all funds.

Анна Бальчінос