The city of Dnipro is often dubbed the capital of phone scammers. Could they be operating out of a random business center there? It is possible, agrees Artem Oleshchenko, a representative of the Ukrainian police's cyber unit, but he notes that a specific location matters little.

"In principle, you can't name any single city as the capital. A scam call center might be in one place today and somewhere else tomorrow," Oleshchenko said.

Despite this, many Estonians still associate phone fraud specifically with criminals of a Ukrainian background.

"It's inaccurate to say that Ukraine is where most call centers are concentrated," Oleshchenko explained. "The organizers might be in one country, the call centers in a second or third, the victims in entirely different nations, and the money could be withdrawn in cash in a completely separate region of the world."

"Historically, quite a few criminal investigations have led to Ukraine. Today, however, Ukraine is by no means the only country where this criminal activity originates. There are certainly call centers elsewhere in Europe, and beyond," noted Hannes Kelt, head of the Cyber and Economic Crimes Unit at the Estonian Police's North Prefecture.

Fighting cross-border crime requires collaboration. How do Ukrainian and Estonian police assess their joint efforts?

"We view our cooperation with foreign partners, specifically our Estonian colleagues, very positively. We cannot go into detail, as disclosing too much could harm ongoing operations," Oleshchenko said.

The Estonian police are slightly more forthcoming.

"As a result of our cooperation, Estonian police have been able to be on the ground in Ukraine during searches. Based on our intelligence, a call center was shut down," Kelt said.

He acknowledges, however, that this is just a minor victory.

"Shutting down a call center cannot be the end goal of a criminal investigation. That's why our focus is on reaching the organizers behind it all," Kelt added.

So, when will those organizers face justice?

"Soon," Kelt replied.

Progress has been faster with Estonia's southern neighbors. In early March, Latvian and Ukrainian police conducted a joint operation to dismantle a group of scammers who had defrauded Latvian residents of over €50,000.

"The scammers operated under the guise of the Latvian police and recruited so-called 'drops,' or money mules," Oleshchenko explained. "These are individuals whose accounts receive illicit funds, which are then transferred onward to accounts controlled by criminals. The bank cards belonged to European Union citizens, whom the perpetrators sought out while operating abroad."

Estonian residents are also being used as money mules.

"The fact that the number of money mules has increased over the past year is concerning," Kelt noted. "It shows that criminals can no longer move money automatically; they are forced to invest in people, rely on them, and take on the risk of financial losses."

While many assume the typical scam victim is a Russian-speaking pensioner, both Ukrainian and Estonian police warn that anyone can fall prey, regardless of age, nationality, or native language.

"Scammers develop specialized communication scripts designed for different age groups. If they need Google Translate, they use it. Large criminal organizations even provide targeted training," Oleshchenko pointed out.

"Since late 2024, we've seen these calls being made on a mass scale in Estonian, which means Estonian speakers have been hired at call centers in Ukraine and elsewhere," Kelt added.

Last year, Estonian police received €11.5 million in damage claims related to scam calls. While Oleshchenko declined to provide the corresponding figure for Ukraine, he acknowledged that the full-scale war has provided criminals with new opportunities to exploit people.

"Scammers call the relatives of prisoners of war or missing persons, offering—for a fee—to return a body or provide information about a loved one," Oleshchenko said. "These families are already in a highly vulnerable emotional state. They are terrified for their loved ones and are willing to do almost anything for even a chance of their return."

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