Fahndungserfolg: Millionenbetrug an Bankkunden: Ermittler heben Netzwerk aus

The federal criminal police office (BKA) and the Frankfurt State Prosecutor's Office have uncovered an international criminal gang that allegedly defrauded bank customers of millions of euros, according to joint statements from the BKA and the State Prosecutor's Office. Following years of investigation, numerous suspects were identified and arrested, reported the BKA and the State Prosecutor's Office.

Three suspects in Europe are suspected of computer fraud in online banking. They are now being held in Spain and Bulgaria. Brazilian authorities also conducted a large-scale operation against the network on Thursday, arresting four alleged members and searching 21 locations in seven cities. The accused were accused of executing numerous unauthorized withdrawals from German online bank customers' accounts within days in November 2023, it was stated.

The scale of the damage is estimated to be in the millions. It is believed that the criminals exploited a vulnerability in the booking process of a payment service provider, which was caused by a faulty software update. The criminals primarily routed the funds to Brazil, where a large portion of the sum was paid out after attempts to obfuscate the transactions.

Smaller portions of the proceeds were moved to four European countries. Information about which banks and how many users in Germany were affected was not provided. The Brazilian authorities' findings will now be incorporated into the investigations in Germany. State Prosecutor Benjamin Krause, who heads the Central Office for the Fight Against Internet Crime (ZIT) at the Frankfurt State Prosecutor's Office, said the successful investigation shows that cybercrime perpetrators cannot feel secure.