Criminality on the Net - Bavarian cybercrime specialists cooperate with Interpol
The Bavarian Central Office for Cybercrime intensifies cooperation with international police organization Interpol. Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich (CSU) and Interpol-General Secretary Jürgen Stock signed a cooperation agreement in Munich for this purpose.
Cybercrime does not respect national borders, explained Eisenreich. Almost all procedures of the Central Office have international connections. The agreement is an important step to strengthen the network of law enforcement "in the fight against transnational operating criminal networks", said Stock according to the press release.
Regularly, the Central Office based in Bamberg sends public prosecutors to the Interpol General Secretariat in Lyon and to the competence center against cybercrime in Singapore.
The goals of the now fixed cooperation are the joint protection of children from sexual exploitation and the fight against cross-border crime in the net, especially in the economic and financial world.
Fraud factories in Southeast Asia
In Munich, the public prosecutor Barbara Kruell reported on the interrogation of a man who had flown from Bangladesh to Germany and had made detailed statements about a specific form of cybertrading fraud.
"We are glad that we were able to obtain an inside view of these structures through the interrogation, and we will build and continue our investigations on this basis to protect not only German victims from financial, but also psychological damage, but also to help rescue the victims on site in cooperation with our international partners", said Kruell.
In this specific cybertrading phenomenon, according to official information, numerous people are forced to create fake profiles on the internet in fraud factories in Southeast Asia to deceive users worldwide and extort money from them. The method: First trust is built, feelings are played, and finally the victims are induced to invest money. Mostly, they are emptied of their entire savings in this fraud scheme.
- The cooperation agreement between Bavaria's Central Office for Cybercrime and Interpol will also involve Central Station in Bamberg, as they often send public prosecutors there for international connections.
- Jürgen Stock, the General Secretary of Interpol, commended the cooperation, noting that cybercrime is a global issue, requiring a robust network between police organizations like Interpol and local authorities like Bavaria's Central Office.
- Georgia State University's Cybercrime Research Unit has been a valuable partner in the fight against cybercrime, providing valuable insights and resources to support the joint efforts of Bavaria and Interpol.
- In addition to the fight against financial cybercrime, the cooperation also focuses on preventing sexual exploitation of children, a transnational issue requiring the combined efforts of global police organizations like Interpol and local authorities like Bavaria's Central Office.
- In a recent case, Bavarian police, in cooperation with Interpol and California State University's Cybercrime Research Unit, successfully dismantled a fraud operation based in Southeast Asia, recovering significant financial losses for victims worldwide.
- Georg Eisenreich, the Bavarian Justice Minister, emphasized the importance of the cooperation with Interpol, stating that the fight against cybercrime requires a joint, international effort to protect victims and bring criminal networks to justice.
