Call centres specialising in online financial fraud have become a growth industry in Albania, attracting young people to criminal activity with the lure of quick money.
Vladimir Karaj
The call centre industry in Albania began to expand rapidly in the late 2000s, built on a readily available, low-cost workforce of young people with foreign language skills. However, its dynamics shifted once modest revenues from legitimate customer service campaigns were replaced by the far more lucrative world of financial scams.
Prosecutors’ investigation files, police data, international agency reports and expert analyses suggest that it employs thousands of young workers and generates tens of millions of euros in illicit profits annually. By way of illustration, Albania’s anti-corruption and organised crime prosecution office told BIRN that in 2024, it had 11 active investigations into call-centre-based fraud involving organised criminal groups.
In April 2026, the authorities targeted several groups. Among them was the operation that led to the arrest of 10 individuals in Tirana linked to companies officially employing more than 400 staff members.
The operation was carried out through cooperation between the Austrian authorities, Europol and the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office, following investigations that estimated that victims had been scammed out of at least 50 million euros.
“Call centres were established and organised in a professional manner, resembling legitimate business entities with a clear division of roles and hierarchical management structures,” Europol stated following the operation.
Victims were recruited to seemingly legitimate online investment platforms via deceptive advertisements on social media or websites. They were then assigned agents who posed as investment advisers or brokers, with the real purpose of conning them.
“These agents managed victims’ accounts over extended periods, often using remote access software to gain full control of the victims’ electronic devices. The fraudsters feigned professional expertise and employed psychological pressure to persuade victims to make additional investments, falsely claiming they would be profitable,” Europol explained.
“In truth, the funds were never invested but were instead channelled into an intricate international money-laundering scheme, ultimately disappearing into the hands of the criminal organisation.”
In January this year, six other suspects were also arrested for defrauding Italian citizens. In both raids and others, most of the call centre operatives actively working when police raided the premises were aged between 18 and 28.
“Most of them are young people, students or graduates who have been unable to find employment in their field,” said the prosecutor who spoke to BIRN on condition of anonymity. “But I want to be clear: they are aware of what they are doing; they understand for themselves that they are involved in crime.”
The operators’ knowing participation in crime is also reflected in their conduct when confronted by law enforcement officers.
“They have a prepared script; they know exactly what to say the moment the police enter,” the prosecutor noted.
“All of them are aware of what they are doing because they are trained and go through multiple stages of instruction; they work with scripts designed to persuade clients,” she added.
Champagne and fast cash
