Computer fraud: Family is said to have stolen 78,000 euros via hacked Payback accounts

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Payback bonus program cards: 399 cases of commercial computer fraud

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Britta Pedersen/dpa

“After years of investigations,” the Bavarian Cybercrime Central Office has brought charges against five people who are said to have gained access to third-party payback accounts “on a large scale” and monetized the corresponding customer loyalty program points. The Bamberg Public Prosecutor's Office and the central office announced this on Tuesday.

The alleged main perpetrators are a couple from Baden-Württemberg and their 27-year-old son or stepson. In the spring of 2020, they are said to have begun “to finance their living by improperly redeeming third-party Payback points and converting them into bank deposits,” as the statement states. They then accessed the points using access data for hacked payback accounts that they got on the dark web.

The accused are then said to have redeemed the equivalent value of the points in several steps using voucher cards at store checkouts. The money was ultimately deposited into specially set up bank accounts. The extent of this is remarkable: the alleged perpetrators are said to have redeemed a total of 7,841,700 payback points from 1,672 victims without authorization, and all of this within eight months. Total value: 78,417 euros.

The alleged main perpetrator is already in prison

The 27-year-old, who has several previous convictions, is also said to have used a total of 995,000 Payback points from 199 victims worth EUR 9,950 in branches of a drugstore chain and a further 270,030 Payback points from 14 victims worth EUR 2,700 in branches of a garden center chain for his own purposes . In the indictment, he is now accused of 399 cases, and his 47-year-old stepfather and his 50-year-old mother are each accused of 274 cases of commercial computer fraud. The law provides for a prison sentence of six months to ten years for each case.

The two other accused - the 28-year-old stepsister of the alleged main perpetrator, who was already imprisoned for another crime, and her husband, also 28, are said to have provided their relatives with bank accounts into which the equivalent of the improperly obtained Payback points could be credited. They must therefore both answer for aiding and abetting computer fraud. The 28-year-old woman has also made several criminal appearances.

Among other things, the evaluation of several recordings from surveillance cameras in the various stores led to the indictment. A jury at the Landshut District Court must decide whether to admit the indictment and open the main proceedings.

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