In Brandenburg, the police have arrested a man who is suspected of having defrauded his victims of tens of thousands of euros using phishing. The police in Kleve said on Thursday that his “massive activity on the Internet” led investigators to a suspect from the greater Berlin area. After months of extensive investigations, police officers from Kleve intervened at the beginning of this month together with the SEK Brandenburg.
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The police in Kleve were involved because, in addition to many other victims, a businessman from there was also affected, according to a statement. The 28-year-old suspect stole a six-figure sum from him. He is said to have obtained the bank access data from his victims via phishing emails, and later called them with a manipulated phone number, for example as an employee about a supposed security problem.
Gold bars, trading cards, Rolex
Six investigators from KK 2, the special cybercrime department in the Kleve district, took care of the case. They searched the accused's apartment together with investigators from Brandenburg. The police wrote that he was found “managing his incriminated accounts and accounts.” She confiscated almost 25 cell phones that the accused used to make his calls.
According to the police, items worth a mid-six-figure value were also confiscated from the 28-year-old. In addition to cash, this also included gold bars, Rolex watches and high-quality trading cards. The man was arrested and has been in custody since then; he and other suspects are still being investigated.
The Kleve police point out that no bank ever asks for confidential data via email or SMS or requests TAN confirmations or similar. The direct bank ING recently also felt compelled to issue such a warning.
(anw)