LKA Lower Saxony warns against fake crypto investment sites

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On the polizei-praevention.de portal of the LKA Lower Saxony, officials warn against fraud with fake investment websites for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. This is an ongoing threat that continues to work successfully for the perpetrators.

Law enforcement officials explain in the warning that masses of spam emails are still being sent and advertisements are still being placed on websites. The perfidious scam relies on the faces of celebrities who regularly appear on television. They supposedly advertise this "financial investment that has supposedly helped them to additional wealth".

Scam relies on the motivation of wanting to earn money quickly

According to the officials, the scam is known as a "boiler room scam" or "boiler room fraud", whereby the "boiler room" is a "dealer's room". The criminal masterminds create numerous websites online for which they use the faces and names of celebrities from TV stations, popular programs, magazines or even music. The well-known personalities usually have a good reputation. They are often known to be wealthy, but often also for their knowledge of the financial world.

In addition, logos, advertising and screenshots of other providers are intended to create more trust among potential victims. As an example, the LKA Lower Saxony shows a screenshot of an imitation website from Spiegel Netzwelt, for example, on which fake Tchibo advertising is also displayed and where a screenshot from an NDR talk show with Barbara Schöneberger and Günther Jauch is used. Allegedly, Jauch reported on the "Bitcoin Bank Breaker" platform, Schöneberger checked it out and created her own account. This is of course a fake, the talk show was about other topics. The URL of the website also has nothing to do with Der Spiegel.

The LKA Lower Saxony lists a whole series of names of celebrities who are misused for this fraudulent advertising, such as Klaas Heufer-Umlauf, Oliver Welke, Robert Geiss, Helge Schneider, Helene Fischer, Ina Müller, Dieter Bohlen, Frank Thelen, Markus Lanz, Til Schweiger, Carsten Maschmeyer, Sarah Wagenknecht, Dieter Hallervorden – Peter Maffay and Joko Winterscheid also appear frequently. The allegedly reporting renowned media include ARD One, Bild, ProSieben, RTL, Tagesschau, Vox and ZDF. Examples of programs in which this was allegedly reported are "Die Höhle der Löwen" or "Late Night Berlin" and many more.

Scam sites attract attention

Reviews or comments from satisfied customers can often be found on the scam sites. They claim to have actually earned money with the scam. Of course, these are also fakes.

The perpetrators try to catch victims off guard with lurid headlines. Headlines such as "Big banks don't want anyone to know about this secret money printing machine", "Lion's den system makes German citizens rich! Program must not be broadcast, the broadcaster is furious" or "The German Bundesbank is suing Günther Jauch again for his comments on NDR Talk Show live! A scandal that shook the whole of Germany!" are intended to raise awareness among victims.

The aim of the scam

Ultimately, of course, the fraudsters want the victims' money. The first thing victims do is set up an account on the alleged trading sites of the perpetrators, using their name, e-mail address and telephone number. Later on, however, the criminals also request personal data such as full name, address, email and bank details, as well as sensitive documents such as a scan of an ID card, selfie with ID in hand and similar. This data can later be misused for other criminal acts.

The officials from Lower Saxony explain that personal contact is often established with the perpetrators posing as crypto consultants, for example via email, chat, messenger or even telephone. The fraudsters then instruct their victims on how to proceed. They repeat the statements of the specific scam and try to build trust. In this context, they elicit further financial information from those who have fallen into the trap. This allows them to identify particularly worthwhile targets and adapt their actions accordingly. According to the LKA, they adapt to the respective life situation, profession and level of education.

However, the scam is also becoming increasingly complex. First of all, a basic capital sum is to be transferred in advance, around 250 euros to an account named by the perpetrators. Recently, this has often been a German bank account, for example from genuine aid organizations –, but these themselves have nothing to do with the scam. They initially assume regular donations until the investigating authorities make inquiries or victims demand their money back. However, the victims usually have fewer concerns about the transfer because they have a German account. Even if victims search for the account details using a search engine, the fraudsters have an excuse ready: they are supposedly working with the aid organization officially.

The supposed crypto-trading site and emails or phone calls from the perpetrators lead victims to believe that their money has increased significantly over a short period of time. Fake account statements on the fraudulent website show this and are intended to persuade victims to transfer larger sums of money. In individual cases, victims have reported to the LKA Lower Saxony that they have received their initial capital back. This gave them confidence and they transferred higher amounts. The fraudsters also build up time pressure. Even before registering on the scam site, a kind of live ticker is supposed to show how much other users have already earned and that there are only a few places left.

However, only the perpetrators earn. According to the incoming police statistics for Lower Saxony, the loss per case increased from a medium to high three-digit amount in 2023 to a low four-digit amount in 2024. The total loss across the state also grew, from the low double-digit million range to the low to mid double-digit million range.

In the warning, the prosecutors discuss other variants of the scam and show several screenshots of the scam sites. They also give tips on how to protect yourself from this scam –, for example, not to click on advertising banners or spam mails that "promise big money". However, anyone who has fallen for the scam should definitely report it to the local police station. Victims should bring all available documents with them, from bank statements and screenshots to mail traffic, chat histories, call logs, notes and the like. Victims should not delete emails.

(dmk)