1. German authorities have detained 18 individuals suspected of being part of an international fraud ring that stole credit card data from over 4 million people worldwide between 2016 and 2021.
2. The suspects allegedly charged victims for fake services, keeping debited amounts small to avoid detection, causing estimated losses of over 300 million euros (about 345 million dollars).
3. The investigation is ongoing, with German authorities investigating former employees of payment service providers and a possible money laundering scheme, involving more than 2,000 bank accounts in Germany.