In a large-scale, globally coordinated action, raids took place last Tuesday in the Netherlands, Germany and seven other countries due to suspicions of credit card fraud, scams and the online offering of ‘nonsense subscriptions’ worth at least 300 million euros. The operation, in which eighteen arrests have been made – including in the Netherlands – and 44 suspects have been identified, is led by the German investigative authorities.
The investigation led by German investigation services focuses on three internationally operating scam networks. One of the three suspected networks, formerly Linkmedia, is now called Aether and is led from Dubai by a 36-year-old Dutchman, Niels Denekamp. Aether made millions from this so-called subscription fraud, it has been revealed NRC and other European media this summer.
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The suspects, the German Federal Criminal Police Office wrote, obtained the credit card details of 4.3 million cardholders from 193 countries under false pretenses between 2016 and 2021. They cleverly lured the victims into online nonsense subscriptions. Consumers thought they had agreed to the purchase of a product or service, but later turned out to be tied to subscriptions to “film, dating and gaming services,” German investigators write. in a press release. This would involve approximately 19 million write-offs.
The subscription costs were deliberately kept low, below 50 euros, so that many victims did not immediately notice the payments. As a result, it was also less likely to be on the radar of regulators or credit card companies. The descriptions on the statements were often so cryptic that they usually went unnoticed. Even after discovery, it proved difficult for victims to get their money back or find a counter where they could do so.
Luxury cars
According to the justice department, the suspects conspired with employees within the financial service providers that processed payments for the web shops. Authorities are investigating six suspects within four major German payment processors that administer online orders. Among those suspects are executives and compliance officers. One of the payment processors turned out to have installed separate software to disguise the illegal transactions of the fraudulent web shops with the help of fictitious bank accounts.
The investigation into the scammers was supported by the European services of Europol and Eurojust. The raids took place on Tuesday in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, the US, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Canada and Singapore. A few hundred detectives were involved in the raids and crypto coins, luxury cars, laptops and telephones were seized. The North Holland police were involved in the Dutch part but made no comment and referred to the German investigation services.
The websites used to defraud people were never found in Google, Eurojust said. Visitors only came here through advertisements, links, and app messages that clicked through to the sites. The suspects used various letterbox companies, mainly in Cyprus and the United Kingdom, as a front and vehicle to siphon off money. These companies were set up and managed by trust offices that specialize in providing financial services to criminal organizations.
The German public prosecutor’s office will not provide any further information about the suspects. Aether CEO Niels Denekamp wants to oppose NRC did not respond and referred to his lawyer for a response. Denekamp has not been approached by “any authority about this matter,” counsel Teun Blom said. “The client has no further comment at this time.”
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