German authorities have moved their campaign against online investment fraud beyond website warnings and into telephone infrastructure, according to Finance Magnates, which reported on 28 September 2026 about an announcement made three days earlier.
What was announced
On 25 September 2026, authorities announced a new stage of Operation Heracles, a coordinated effort against international cyber investment fraud. The report lists the Cybercrime Centre at the Karlsruhe Public Prosecutor General's Office, the Baden-Wurttemberg State Criminal Police Office, the Federal Criminal Police Office, BaFin, the Federal Network Agency and Austrian authorities as participants. BaFin supplied information used to spot suspicious numbers, while the Federal Network Agency took supervisory steps against telecom companies.
According to the report, investigators disabled 9,304 German phone numbers over the preceding three months, mostly tied to so-called cybertrading fraud. The running total since the operation began is 13,888 numbers, of which 13,397 are German and 491 Austrian.
The focus is on fixed-line, mobile and VoIP numbers. Authorities say such numbers can form part of crime-as-a-service systems rented out to criminal groups, and their suspected use reaches beyond investment fraud. Telecom companies are being asked to change number registration procedures and tighten compliance checks on their sales partners and dealers, and structures are being set up to identify and disable criminally used numbers more systematically.
Why it matters for traders
Fake trading platforms usually depend on a phone call or messaging contact to pressure victims into larger deposits. Cutting the supply of numbers attacks that step, but it does not remove the websites themselves, and scammers can switch channels. Regulators across Europe have been publishing warning lists for years; this action shows a complementary approach through telecom rules.
What to check
- Whether a broker that phones you unprompted is authorised in your country.
- Whether you are being pushed to deposit quickly or to install remote-access software.
- Whether the regulator's warning list already names the platform.
Sources
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