Online investment fraud in Munich, Digi Mart USA News (Munich, Germany): Nearly 30 million euros were taken by online investment fraudsters last year in Munich alone, according to police statistics. That figure reflects only reported cases, and investigators at police headquarters estimate the actual damage could be roughly five times higher.
Extrapolated across Germany, the losses would exceed five billion euros flowing to “Cybertrade” gangs linked to organized crime. Online investment fraud is described as the most damaging form of internet fraud, and investigators regularly see individual residents of Munich losing sums in the millions while chasing promised high returns.
The Verbraucherzentrale Bayern, a consumer protection organization based in Munich, offers an online “Fake-Check Geldanlage” tool that lets anyone anonymously check whether an investment offer may be fraudulent. Usage has grown: in April, 491 people who had already made initial transfers used the tool, and six months later the number had reached 1,086.
Scammers often promote fake websites or social media posts in which a celebrity or even a politician supposedly praises a guaranteed investment with spectacular returns. Artificial intelligence helps fraudsters generate such content.
Some advertisements are designed to target people who no longer trust the media, politicians or banks.
Victims who click through are typically contacted by a “conversion agent” who assesses their financial situation, followed by a purported financial expert who recommends investing. The “adviser” suggests starting with a test amount of 250 euros.
The victim then sees an apparent doubling of the investment on a “portfolio” screen, but the platform, the portfolio and the returns are all fake. The money is actually going to fraudsters in places such as Southeast Asia, the Caucasus, the Balkans and Cyprus.
Victims are then pressured to transfer ever larger sums to dubious accounts. When a victim attempts to withdraw supposed profits, the funds are frozen on alleged money laundering grounds, and sudden taxes or advance payments are demanded.
After the victim has paid, the adviser, website and portfolio disappear along with the money.
Victims who try to recover their losses are often contacted again by people posing as lawyers who promise to help for a fee, or by people claiming to represent a banking supervisory authority. These claims are false.
The criminal groups divide the work: call centers belong to one gang, payment processing is handled by another criminal network, and customer data is sold to third parties. Investigators in Munich say the “crime as a service” model is often used.
The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office reported last year that a “Berlin Group” acting as a money laundering network for a gang from Cyprus, using 16 alleged trading platforms, took at least 7.5 million euros from 269 people. This week, Munich police are warning residents about the scheme with information stands, lectures and one million flyers distributed to households across the city.
The Munich police security report also describes a Bulgarian call center that caused losses of more than 100 million euros nationwide before a raid. Earlier this year, a courier was arrested after collecting 60,000 euros in cash from an elderly Munich resident over 80 years old for an alleged investment, a rare arrest in such cases.
