BaFin warns of "Klever Beratung" home-office admin jobs on klever-beratung.de that move third-party money
BaFin warns Klever Beratung home-office jobs on klever-beratung.de involve forwarding third-party money or converting it to crypto without authorisation. Klever Kraft GmbH is not involved.
- First reported
- Reports
- 1
Source: bafin.de · published
What happened
Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) warned on 6 November 2026 against accepting job offers from Klever Beratung for positions described as Mitarbeiter in der Verwaltung im Home Office or Kaufmännische Assistenz im Homeoffice, advertised on the website klever-beratung(.)de. BaFin says there is suspicion that unknown operators are offering payment services and crypto-asset services without authorisation. According to BaFin, there is no connection with Klever Kraft GmbH of Stuttgart, which is not involved.
How the scam works
BaFin explains that the advertised work involves receiving payments from third parties into one's own domestic bank account and then forwarding the money on instruction or exchanging it into crypto-assets. According to BaFin, the money paid into the workers' accounts presumably comes from people or companies who were themselves victims of criminal, especially fraudulent, acts. Transferring and exchanging such funds requires authorisation, which the operators do not have.
In practice this means the job turns the applicant into a money mule. A home-office administration role sounds harmless and may come with an employment contract, onboarding emails and a friendly supervisor. The worker's real bank account, however, becomes the channel through which stolen money is moved and disguised, often by converting it into crypto-assets that are hard to trace. When victims report the fraud, the account holder is usually the first person investigators and banks can identify, and they may face account closure, repayment demands and criminal investigation.
BaFin notes it has repeatedly warned against this kind of activity, which was previously often described as work as a Treuhandassistent or Treuhandassistentin (trustee assistant). The warning is published under section 8(7) of the Payment Services Supervision Act (ZAG) and section 10(7) of the Crypto Markets Supervision Act (KMAG). Anyone offered work that involves receiving and forwarding other people's money should decline, and anyone already doing so should stop, inform their bank and contact the police.
Source
BaFin consumer warning, 6 November 2026: https://www.bafin.de/SharedDocs/Veroeffentlichungen/DE/Verbrauchermitteilung/unerlaubte/2026/meldung_2026_11_06_klever_beratung.html
Red flags
- A home-office job that involves receiving money into your own bank account.
- Instructions to forward incoming payments or convert them into crypto-assets.
- An administrative or assistant role with no clear business purpose for the payments.
- A job title such as Treuhandassistent or trustee assistant.
- Pressure to act quickly on payments without asking where the money comes from.
If you were targeted
- 1Do not accept jobs that require receiving and forwarding third-party money.
- 2If you have already received payments, stop forwarding them and contact your bank immediately.
- 3Report the offer to the police and to BaFin.
- 4Do not send copies of your ID or bank details to the advertiser.
- 5Check BaFin's company database before dealing with any firm offering financial services.