Advance-fee fraud
£130K recovered
A promised business loan required escalating 'processing fees' that never ended.
- Client
- Italian small business
- Location
- Milan, Italy
- Case duration
- 5 weeks
- Lead agent
- Elena Marchetti
Full client summary
The lender existed only as a website and a virtual office. We identified the payment processor, filed recall claims on each fee payment, and reported the operation to the relevant financial regulator.
Case timeline
- 1
Intake & evidence
Fee schedule and correspondence documented in full.
- 2
Tracing
Payment processor and beneficiary accounts identified.
- 3
Freeze & claim
Recall claims filed against every fee payment.
- 4
Recovery
Majority of the fees refunded by the processor.
Outcome
£130K recovered
Amount involved: £130K · Closed in 5 weeks · 2024
Verification & compliance
Standards our case work is held to
AML / KYC compliant
Anti-money-laundering procedures on every file
GDPR data handling
EU-standard confidentiality and data protection
ISO 27001 aligned
Information-security controls for case evidence
Certified fraud examiners
Accredited investigators leading each case
Registered in Austria
Vienna-based office, established 2021
Encrypted intake
All submissions transmitted over secure channels