Fraudsters posing as dietary supplement sellers extorted money from retirees: authorities uncovered a network of scam call centers in Dnipropetrovsk region.

Police have dismantled a network of fraudulent call centers operating in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Poltava regions. This was reported by the press service of the National Police.

It has been established that members of the criminal organization had a database of citizens who had previously purchased dietary supplements. Throughout 2023-2024, the extortionists sent new supplements by mail in the names of these individuals, many of whom were pensioners. Subsequently, the scammers would call the victims posing as medical professionals and demanded payment that significantly exceeded the actual value of the products. If a person refused to collect the package from the post office and pay for it, they would start receiving calls within a few hours supposedly from the enforcement service, informing them about the initiation of criminal proceedings against them and the imposition of financial penalties.

The criminals demanded an amount 2.5 times higher than the previous one and threatened to block the pension card, which was the only source of income. Pensioners were terrorized until they transferred the funds.

In one day, the fraudsters sent out more than 100 packages.

The call center leaders are residents of the Dnipropetrovsk region aged 24-29. Among the employees of the "offices" were minors.

Currently, 13 individuals have been declared suspects, with 9 detained under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. The pre-trial investigation continues under parts 1 and 2 of Article 255 (creation and leadership of a criminal organization, as well as participation in it) and part 4 of Article 189 (extortion) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The suspects face up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.