Payment processors

In addition to the acquiring bank, issuing bank, and card association, the merchant frequently employs the services of a payment processor to facilitate this process and act as the technical interface between the merchant and the payment system. Here you will find a list of the payment processors working with

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Supervised financial institutions facilitating scams

Supervised financial entities showing up in criminal files

Over the last decades, the world has witnessed increasingly massive cybercrime attacks across borders. These crimes are very often facilitated by supervised financial entities, crypto exchanges. With the European financial supervisory authorities being very reluctant to take decisive action against payment companies involved in fraud scams, the harm done continues

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Popular crypto scams

Most popular crypto scams and how to avoid them!

Crypto scams are a plague Although we are in a crypto winter with the crash on the markets also driving down the crypto valuations, we still receive emails from victims about scammers trying to convince them to invest in promising crypto ventures. So, crypto scams are still a plague, and

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Postbanks many shell company accounts

Postbank´s many shell company accounts!

Our research shows that Postbank Germany (a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank) was definitely “the bank to go” for scammers in 2016 – 2020 to open bank accounts for shell companies. We collected the data of more than 90 shell companies with bank accounts with different Postbank branches all over Germany.

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Enhance the drafted DMA

Enhance the drafted DMA!

As we have seen so often in the past years, the European authorities have been mainly concerned with protecting the interests of the business users in drafting the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and have forgotten about the so much-needed consumer protection. It is about time to enhance consumer protection in

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EBA to start to do a proper job

EBA has finally to do a proper job!

In preparing the civil legal claims against PAYVISION B.V., we dig deeply into the criminal files for Option888 and the Wolf of Sofia. We learn a lot about how these fraudulent schemes work. In addition, we also know a lot about the enablers of these enormous fraudulent activities. Unscrupulous regulated

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Interview EFRI

Interview Part II: Deciphering Cybercrime and Scams!

For Part I of the interview with the EFRI founder, Elfriede Sixt, go here. Q 6. How did BitRush develop into the Lenhoff cybercrime case? Despite being aware of the money-laundering allegations, BitRush Corp.’s then Chief Technology Officer, Joachim Kalcher, teamed up with Uwe Lenhoff. He continued to push his

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Bulgaria - a money-laundering hub

BULGARIA – An EU Scam and Money Laundering Hub

Gal and Marina BARAK’s Bulgarian money-laundering organization On 1 September 2020, the now infamous Wolf of Sofia, Israeli citizen Gal Barak, was found guilty of serious fraud and money laundering. Barak was identified as one of the beneficial owners of a cybercrime organisation, based in Sofia, Bulgaria. 46 shell companies with

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Hong Kong a center for scammers

Hong Kong is a great Place for Scammers!

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of millions of people are locked down in their homes or must apply social distancing rules. Hence, their social activities are limited to social media and messenger services. The perfect environment for financial fraud is right now reaching new dimensions. Acting cross-border is an essential

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