About EFRI
EFRI supports victims of online scams by documenting fraud schemes, analysing payment flows, and coordinating affected consumers in order to facilitate complaints, regulatory engagement, and collective redress mechanisms where legally available.
Our work focuses on identifying systemic failures in the handling of fraud-related transactions and on bringing substantiated, evidence-based concerns to the attention of competent authorities, regulators, and legal representatives.
Our Mission
EFRI’s mission is to empower victims of online investment fraud, to promote accountability within the financial system, and to contribute to improved enforcement of existing consumer-protection and anti-money-laundering frameworks.
EFRI does not conduct criminal investigations and does not provide legal representation. Its role is to support affected consumers through structured documentation, aggregation of claims, and cooperation with licensed legal professionals and public authorities.
Our Work
EFRI’s activities include the documentation and analysis of fraud schemes, the aggregation of affected consumers across jurisdictions, and the preparation of factual submissions, complaints, and reports addressed to regulators, supervisory authorities, and law-enforcement bodies
Where legally available, EFRI may also support the preparation of collective redress initiatives within the scope of its statutory mandate.
Our Legal and Institutional Framework
The Austrian non-profit organization “Initiative for Fighting Cybercrime in Europe – EFRI” (Initiative zur Bekämpfung von Cyberkriminalität an Konsumenten und Kleinanlegern in Europa – EFRI) was established in Vienna on May 25, 2020.
We are registered with the Austrian Vereinsregister (ZVR 1493630560) and have been approved by the Austrian authorities as a qualified entity in accordance with Section 1(1) of the Austrian QEG. Additionally, we are registered in the EU registry for qualified entities.
EFRI is funded by a one-time membership fee of €75.
EFRI assists individual victims with out-of-court refund claims. In these cases, no legal action is planned under Section 5(3) Z 2 of the Austrian QEG (Qualified Entities Act). The matter remains limited to the individual claim. For such proceedings, the fee is capped at 10% of the compensation obtained through EFRI’s assistance.
When legal action is initiated under Section 5(3) Z 2 of the Austrian QEG, EFRI may collaborate with litigation funders. Specific arrangements must then be made, but these will always comply with Section 6(3) QEG to ensure that the victims’ interests are fully protected. Each victim will be informed and must give consent to the procedure. For participation in collective legal actions, specific participation arrangements may apply and will be communicated transparently in advance.
Representative actions under the QEG 2025
In the 2025 reporting period, EFRI did not file any representative action within the meaning of the QEG. Accordingly, no representative action brought by EFRI was pending or concluded during that period. Information on planned collective action work, including the planned proceedings relating to Payvision/ING, is available on this website. EFRI does not currently pursue redress actions (Abhilfeklagen).
Finances 2025:
With effect from 15 November 2024, EFRI was granted tax-deductible donation status by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance pursuant to Section 4a(4) EStG 1988. In 2025, EFRI received donations under this status from two organisations interested in supporting its work. In this context, EFRI decided to waive the one-off membership fee for 250 new victims of Barak and Lenhoff who joined the initiative in 2025. EFRI also waived the EUR 75 membership fee for the 65 victims represented in the P2P GmbH recovery proceedings.
Legal costs accounted for 93% of EFRI’s total expenditure in 2025 and were primarily related to the preparation of legal action against Payvision/ING in the Netherlands.
For more information, please read our 2025 activity report.
Our Board
Elfriede Sixt is an Austrian Certified Public Accountant and Auditor, former EY Audit Partner, Author, Co-Founder and Chairwoman of EFRI. Find her LinkedIn Profile here.
Nigel Kimberley is a British-born Senior University Lecturer who lives in Finland. You can find him on Facebook.
Our Executive Advisory Board
Our Executive Advisory Board (EAB) is set up to support the Management Board in strategic and financial decisions.
Joachim Fisch (a German living in Sweden) retired in 2019, scam victim. He received his money back via Cybercrime Bamberg in October 2025.
Simone Devereux (British)
is a business owner of 20 years based in the UK. You can view her LinkedIn profile here.
Roumiana Velikova (Bulgarian) holds a PhD in International Economics from the University of National and World Economy, Sofia, and an MA in European Studies from the University of Birmingham.
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Howard Clapham (Scottish) is a qualified UK lawyer and C.A. (Certified Accountant) with more than 50 years of entrepreneurial experience.
Impressum
Initiative zur Bekämpfung von Cyberkriminalität an Konsumenten und Kleinanlegern in Europa
Registered in Vienna ZVR 1493630560, Austria
contact: [email protected], phone: 00436644251353
The Articles of the Association (in english) of the not-for-profit organization are downloadable here.
Through its work, EFRI seeks to contribute to greater transparency, accountability, and effective enforcement in the fight against online investment fraud, while ensuring that its activities remain evidence-based, proportionate, and within the limits of its legal mandate.