Germany Hunts for Cyber Criminals Amid Billion-Euro Scams

‘Boiler room’ operations scam consumers out of huge sums
Europe’s largest economy has become a key target in Europe

The Central Office of Cyber-Crime Bavaria Chief Public Prosecutor Nino Goldbeck at his office in Bamberg, Germany, on May 4.Photographer: Ben Kilb/Bloomberg

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By Karin Matussek and Steven Arons

August 19, 2023 at 2:30 AM EDT

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At the start, the job looked like a well-paid role in finance. It ended with a $10,000-a-month drug habit and a cell in a German prison.

That’s the story of Tal-Jacki Z.F., who was involved in an online trading fraud and confessed in 2021 to his part in cheating victims in Germany, Austria and other European countries of almost €9 million ($9.8 million).