A company from the Sigmaringen district fell victim to a large-scale cryptocurrency fraud in July. Law enforcement has now achieved at least a partial success: part of the stolen sum has been recovered.
The Friedrichshafen Criminal Police and the Hechingen Public Prosecutor's Office report a successful operation. Unknown perpetrators had defrauded the company of a six-figure sum. At least approximately US$100,000 in cryptocurrency was recovered from a trading platform.
A supposedly lucrative investment turned out to be a scam.
According to investigators, the fraudsters lured the company with a highly attractive business opportunity. An alleged investor from Switzerland had expressed interest in a multi-million euro project. After intensive negotiations and even personal meetings, the perpetrators finally convinced their victims to transfer a brokerage commission in the low six-figure range in cryptocurrency. The money then disappeared from the company's accounts via the internet.
With methods like these, the chances of tracing the funds are usually considered slim. In this case, however, the authorities managed to locate and secure a portion of the sum on a cryptocurrency exchange. The perpetrators' identities remain unknown, and the investigation is ongoing.
Police urge caution with crypto payments.
In connection with this case, the criminal investigation department is once again warning of professionally organized scams involving digital currencies. Particular suspicion should be exercised if business partners insist during negotiations on processing payments exclusively in cryptocurrencies. If in doubt, the police advise seeking expert advice early on – for example, from specialized advisory centers such as the Ravensburg Police Headquarters.
