6 million euros in damage

“Cyber Cobra” put a stop to crypto fraudsters

House search in Cyprus by the Austrian investigators

(Bild: zVg)

Investigators at the Cybercrime Competence Center in Vienna are chasing down the traces of criminals online. For example, a local crypto gang that stole six million euros from hundreds of victims.

When police officers are stumped by online crimes, the ball is passed to the C4 investigators. The Federal Criminal Police Office's "Cyber Cobra" then follows the traces left behind by criminals on the Internet. It is in the nature of things that these investigations are often painstakingly detailed. Fraudsters like to cover their tracks around the globe. And they learn new techniques that the C4 specialists have to crack first.

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner visits C4

(Bild: Zwefo)

For example, the technicians convicted the perpetrator of a murder in Vienna's Alsergrund district in 2021, in which a tobacconist was doused with petrol and died. They managed to rescue the completely scorched hard drive and video recordings from the tobacconist.

Crime on the Internet

65,864 crimes were committed in Austria in 2023 - with a strong upward trend. Around a third of the crimes have been solved so far.

Pseudo-construct "LoopX" was the idea of Austrians
Officers were currently on the trail of completely different perpetrators. Four Austrians (aged 29, 36, 38 and 40) and a 34-year-old Czech published the cryptocurrency "LoopX" at the end of 2017. After 7500 transactions and just two months later, when they had raised around six million euros from more than 100 "investors", they took the currency, which in reality never existed, off the network and fled with a large haul.

In October 2023, the police launched a coordinated operation with the Public Prosecutor's Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption, Europol and Eurojust as well as liaison officers. House searches in Graz, Linz, Cyprus and Prague not only sent suspects to prison. They also seized 750,000 euros, a villa (worth 1.4 million) and two sports cars.

It is a battle that has been won. But the war against cyber criminals is far from won.

Wirtschafts- und Korruptionsstaatsanwalt Martin Ortner

Bild: Jöchl Martin

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) congratulated on this success. He added that in addition to modern equipment, modern powers were also required. This refers to the state Trojan, without which even the best investigators are often in the dark. Anyone who believes that the "Cyber Cobra" is resting on its laurels is mistaken. According to economic and corruption prosecutor Martin Ortner, his office has more than 30 cybercrime cases pending. The damage: more than five million euros each. Meanwhile, feverish investigations are continuing into a number of other online crimes.