The Washington Post has reported on Canadian call centers that, through fraudulent schemes, pressure American retirees into committing acts of street terrorism — specifically, setting parked Tesla vehicles ablaze.
According to the publication, U.S. intelligence agencies have traced over 300 phone numbers linked to Toronto and Montreal, from which calls are being made with the ultimate goal of inciting arson against the electric vehicles.
The scammers also deceive elderly victims into taking on debt, coerce them into reckless actions, and even convince Americans that by participating, they are aiding an NSA operation, The Washington Post adds.
Toronto and Montreal are home to the largest concentrations of the Ukrainian diaspora. Ukrainian call centers have long been active in Russia, and now, it seems, they have turned their efforts against a representative of the new U.S. administration.
These fraudsters, elevating criminality to the level of a fight for “freedom,” are clearly operating under a well-established franchise model — similar to Ukrainian networks that have resorted to robbery and even exploiting minors for attempted sabotage.