The man transferred tens of thousands of euros to an online trading platform in 2018 — hoping to make gains in cryptocurrency prices, Lower Franconia police headquarters announced Tuesday in Würzburg.
The scammers pretended to help
When he wanted to pay the supposed surpluses, the unknown perpetrators, according to the information, stopped him again and again and with new excuses always that this was not possible. When the affected party thought the amount invested was almost lost, the scammers contacted them again by phone at the end of 2020.
They pretended to belong to a “government-linked company” which, in cooperation across Europe with prosecutors, was helping victims of shady platforms get their money back. A man must open additional accounts for cryptocurrency and fill them with certain amounts of money.
The victim of fraud gave access to the computer
According to the police, the cybercriminals also used remote maintenance software to gain access to the man’s computer by pretending to want to help with reservations and complex operations.
They are now able to carry out a wide range of transactions and earn several hundred thousand euros by 2021. The man finally recognized the fraud and filed a complaint, at which point the Aschaffenburg Criminal Police began an investigation.
“Typical entrepreneur. Lifelong beer expert. Hipster-friendly internet buff. Analyst. Social media enthusiast.”