Bottrop/Gladbeck.
Fraudulent cyber trading is on the rise, police warn. In 2022 alone, she counted 79 cases with 2.5 million euros in damage.
“They promise quick money,” warns Friederike Zurhausen, President of the Recklinghausen police, about fraud with investments on the Internet. Fraudulent cyber trading is becoming more and more common: “Investigators are registering a constantly growing number of fraud victims. In the past five years we are talking about total damage of almost 5 million euros. In 2022 alone it was over 2.5 million euros with 79 known cases.”
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How does this scam work? The first contact takes place when the potential customer finds out about investment opportunities on the Internet on topic sites. Some websites are already fake. To register, the operators of the site then ask for photos of the identity card and the last heating bill, for example.
Shortly thereafter, customers receive a call from an alleged broker – often with a number from England. He talks shop with the investor and gets him to connect to his computer. This opens the door to scammers. Access to personal data is possible from outside as long as the computer is connected to the network.
Scammers secretly acquire bitcoins
Customers are now being cheated in various ways: While the scammers secretly acquire Bitcoins with the customer data, the investors transfer the first money with which the brokers are supposed to work. Then the scammers show the customer on their home screen how the money invested has tripled after just a few days. However, this is purely an illusion. In reality, this money no longer exists.
In some cases, if an investor requests a partial payment, it will even be granted. “Because the scammers want more money from you,” explains Chief Inspector Dirk Christossek from the Recklinghausen police headquarters. And unfortunately, many swindlers fall for it too. It is not uncommon for investors to then transfer tens of thousands, even up to several hundred thousand euros.
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Investigator Dirk Christossek reports: “The investigations are difficult. The internet moves fast, and so do scammers. The website will be closed immediately and can no longer be found. The phone numbers are usually issued on false personal data. At the same time, the scammers are opening new websites and continuing their perfidious scam.”
“Unfortunately, the supposed successes spread faster than the lost capital,” warns Police Commissioner Zurhausen, adding: “New investors advertise their first successes by word of mouth. On the other hand, the shame when they realize that they have lost everything inhibits many from dealing with it openly. Instead of warning others or reporting it to the police, they prefer not to say anything. We would like to encourage those affected to report to the police. Help us prevent others from making the same mistakes.”
Information about online scams: https://www.polizei-beratung.de/themen-und-tipps/betrug/kredit-und-anlagebetrug/
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