The behind-the-lines war between Kyiv and Moscow is being fought not just by drones and missiles, but also by criminals. A firefight between Ukrainian security officers last week was a reminder that this can be a risky strategy, with potentially dangerous consequences.
Both Ukraine and Russia encourage hackers to break into enemy systems. Moscow also uses smugglers to bypass Western sanctions, while Kyiv is using telephone scammers to try to disrupt life in Russia and coerce ordinary Russians into becoming saboteurs.
Partly as a result, Ukraine has emerged as a major player in this massive criminal industry. There may now be as many as 1,500 telephone scam centres in the country, generating the equivalent of up to £750m every month.
Shorts
These criminals try to con their targets into giving up their online passwords, taking up too-good-to-be-true fake investment opportunities or moving their money into accounts controlled by the scammers. They are driven by profit, not politics, and their targets range from Europe to Israel, the US to Central Asia.
