A joint operation involving German, Brazilian, and European authorities has dismantled a complex international fraud network, highlighting growing cross-jurisdictional efforts to combat financial cybercrime involving millions of euros stolen via payment system vulnerabilities.
German investigators say they have dismantled an international fraud network that siphoned millions of euros from online banking customers after exploiting a flaw in a payment provider’s booking process. The Bundeskriminalamt, Germany’s federal police agency, and prosecutors in Frankfurt said the case was built over several years with help from Brazilian authorities and led to arrests and searches across multiple countries.
According to the German authorities, the alleged scheme centred on a software update that created a vulnerability in the payment system. Investigators say the suspects used it in November 2023 to trigger a wave of unauthorised transfers from German online banking accounts within days. The money was then moved mainly to Brazil, where much of it was withdrawn after attempts to disguise its origin, while a smaller share was handled in four European countries. Officials said the losses run into the millions, though they did not name the affected banks or say how many customers were hit.
The latest action took place on Thursday in Brazil, where police arrested four people and searched 21 properties in seven cities. Three further suspects identified in Europe are being pursued in Spain and Bulgaria, according to the joint statement from the Bundeskriminalamt and the Frankfurt prosecutors’ office. Benjamin Krause, who heads the cybercrime unit at the Frankfurt prosecutors’ office, said the operation showed that cybercriminals cannot assume they are beyond the reach of law enforcement.
The case fits a broader pattern of increasingly coordinated cross-border fraud investigations in Europe and the United States. Europol said last year that a separate international crackdown on card fraud and money laundering networks led to more than 60 searches and 18 arrests, while the U.S. Department of Justice in January announced indictments in a large ATM jackpotting conspiracy involving malware used to steal cash from machines. Together, those cases underline how quickly financial crime can move across jurisdictions, and how often investigators now need to work together across continents to follow the money.
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