They were looking for work and became “posts”. A gang of fraudsters laundered millions through Poles' accounts and invested the loot in cryptocurrencies

14 people were arrested on suspicion of money laundering as part of a criminal group committing fraud using the “bank employee” method. The Regional Prosecutor's Office in Łódź has already investigated 81 people, and the victims' losses amounted to over PLN 6 million.

Krzysztof Kopania, spokesman for the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Łódź, announced on Monday the arrest of 9 women and 5 men in an investigation into fraud committed using the “bank employee” method.

Attack on “fake bankers”

– 14 people aged 19 to 53 were detained on charges of money laundering as part of an organized criminal group operating between 2023 and 2025, which specialized in committing online fraud, using the “bank employee” legend, said prosecutor Kopania.

According to the prosecutor,The trick of the detainees was that they made their bank accounts available to the organizers of the criminal activity. They were used as alleged technical accounts of banks, where the money extorted from the victims was transferred.

– The suspects responded to advertisements regarding earning opportunities posted on the Internet, including on one of the social networking sites. The cooperation offer included providing details of their accounts, ATM cards, as well as codes and passwords that allowed access to them, Kopania said.

He added that the suspects increased the limits on one-off withdrawals from their accounts, which allowed the extorted money to flow quickly. Once cashed out, most of the loot was immediately invested in cryptocurrencies.

– The suspects received 2 percent as their earnings. extorted money that passed through their accounts. The charges presented concern money laundering, amounting to over PLN 50,000. PLN, which gives a total of over 500 thousand. PLN – said Kopania.

They organized a fake call center

The evidence collected by the prosecutor's office shows that the group had precisely divided roles. The criminals organized a fake office (Call Center). From there they contacted the victims, presenting themselves as bank employees.

They provided false information that the money deposited in the bank was at risk of criminal activity and recommended that, for security reasons, customers transfer it to “secure” technical accounts provided by the bank, which were actually accounts provided by people “recruited” on the Internet working for the gang.

– Fraudsters even went so far as to encourage victims to take out large bank loans. Due to the loss of creditworthiness, this was intended to prevent criminals from taking out loans using the personal data of victims, Kopania explained.

He added that the money from the loans taken out was also transferred to the supposedly technical bank accounts they provided, and then paid out via the Blik service or using ATM cards.

The “safe account” method cost them PLN 6 million

– The charges in this case are the result of findings made in an investigation conducted under the supervision of the National Prosecutor's Office by the Cybercrime Department of the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Łódź and the Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime – Management Board in Kielce. We have already charged 81 people who committed fraud to the detriment of 82 victims. Losses exceed PLN 6 million, Kopania said.

He added that the investigation is ongoing and the suspects face imprisonment of up to 15 years. Since it was assumed that they turned criminal activity into a permanent source of income, this increases the severity of the penalty. (PAP)

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