The Italy-Albania axis is being investigated for a series of scams relating to contracts for the supply of electricity and gas. At this moment, the investigations involve many Italian provinces and the Tirana area. According to what was disclosed, at least two energy companies were identified that used AI to simulate the vocal consent of customers for the stipulation of the contract.
Local and IT searches are underway between Italy and Albania, more precisely in Tirana where, according to the State Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Milan, fraud against consumers on electricity and gas contracts has been orchestrated. The operation is called Energy Switch and is currently ongoing between the two Countries with searches and investigations in various provinces of our country and more than one Albanian city.
According to those investigating, there would be a round of fraudulent contracts for the supply of electricity and gas services with international implications. Postal police officers are proceeding with the analysis and seizure of paper material available to various companies and individuals. The investigators’ objective is to combat fraud in contracts for the supply of electricity and gas.
They were mobilized for the operation dozens of agents and vehicles from the various Italian sections of the postal police. The news relating to the investigation promises to be important with impressive data on scams and fraud relating to consumer contracts. The aim of the authorities is to protect the market and citizens, who have been grappling for some time with a series of very advantageous offers in the service provision sector.
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According to the police, in fact, the transition from the protected market to the free market in the provision of this type of service has represented a new attraction for organized crime. The investigation started from the initial identification of a criminal organization which in just 3 months in 2023 managed to produce illicit earnings of around 9 million euros.
According to the authorities, criminal organizations stipulated fake contracts for the supply of electricity and gas, often forging signatures and modifying the audio tracks recorded during phone calls. Criminal organizations often made use of the help of artificial intelligence, useful for simulating having obtained vocal consent from unfortunate customers. After about a month, unsuspecting customers received very high payment reminders and continuous phone calls for credit redemption of alleged unpaid bills.
In particular, two energy and gas supply companies based in Padua and numerous call centers based in Italy and Albania specialized in fraudulent activation of contracts, extortion and self-laundering were identified.
People who were contacted even at dawn and late in the evening were offered an excuse to temporarily change operator such as gas leaks or interruption of services for public works. When consumers refused, contracts were still stipulated in their name, also using artificial intelligence to record and modify the voices of the unfortunate people to sign the modified agreements with “yes”.
