Canadian Travis P. lost his entire savings after investing through what appeared to be a reputable online portal. Thousands of people have been caught in the same way by internet criminals, including victims in Germany.
Travis P. then spent years collecting evidence and alerting investigators. He found that many scam websites used the same software, identified the chief executive of the software company and contacted him.
Bavarian prosecutor Nino Goldbeck’s investigation of the fraud network led through call centres in Eastern Europe to a mafia family in Israel. The Spiegel podcast Firewall describes the tricks the criminals used on victims, how Travis P. located a scam boss, and why this case brought an unusual success against the scam industry.