Authorities shut down 10,000 numbers in cyber-fraud crackdown

In a major crackdown against international cyber-investment fraud known as ‘Operation Herakles’, German and international investigators have shut down nearly 10,000 phone numbers used by cybercriminals. Additionally, over 2,000 fraudulent trading platform domains were deactivated.

The operation was a collaborative effort involving the Cybercrime Center at the Karlsruhe Public Prosecutor's Office, the Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA), and the Austrian Federal Criminal Police Office.

Since the beginning of the operation, a total of 13,888 phone numbers have been deactivated, including 13,397 in Germany and 491 in Austria. The crackdown targets ‘cybertrading fraud,’ a phenomenon where victims are lured into investing large sums of money into unauthorized internet platforms through calls from overseas call centers.