Deutsche Bank. Fraudsters. MasterCard Gold Scheme

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© Copyrights МЕЙЕРХОЛЬД Тася - Tasya MEIERHOLD
© Copyrights КОРДИКОВА Елена - Elena G. KORDIKOVA


Deutsche Bank. Fraudsters. The MasterCard Gold Scheme

Tuebingen, Germany. Weak points in the MasterCard Gold scheme.
Since 2003/2004 years

A True Story

Deutsche Bank often targets vulnerable foreigners temporarily residing in Germany and working under scholarship grants. When the project is coming to an end and the visa is about to expire, the bank’s employees start paying attention to such clients’ accounts - especially if the balance on the SparKonto exceeds a certain internal threshold set by the bank.

Such a client is invited to a bank branch under a plausible pretext - for example, to “discuss bonus programmes” or “optimise savings”. At the bank, they are taken to an isolated room where communication with the outside world (including friends or an interpreter) becomes difficult or even impossible.

Next, the client is persistently urged to apply for a MasterCard Gold credit card - but not as a full-fledged credit product, but under the guise of a loyalty bonus (Spar-Bonus). In this case, the contract is not actually signed in an explicit form: the signature may be placed as part of other documents, without a clear emphasis on its significance.

Immediately after that, the bank initiates a transfer of all funds from the client’s SparKonto to another bank - usually to Commerzbank (Frankfurt am Main). The operation is presented as “asset optimisation” or “secure storage of funds”, but in fact it is a withdrawal of money from the account under the client’s control.

By the time the foreigner leaves Germany, their account is already deeply in the red - due to the activation of the credit limit on the “gold” card. This negative balance deprives the researcher of any chance to obtain a new grant or a Schengen visa, as it shows up in credit histories (for instance, in Schufa).

The situation is aggravated by the fact that even after the card is formally blocked (which the client tries to do from abroad), the bank continues to charge:

1/ A high monthly fee for MasterCard Gold maintenance - €150 per month;

2/ Late payment fees and interest on the credit - an additional €50 for late payment;

3/ Payments for imposed services: subscriptions to magazines and newspapers, software licences, antivirus programs, etc. - for instance:

3.1/ subscription to the Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten magazine - €25/month, etc. ;

3.2/ Security Pro Max antivirus software package - €40/year, etc.

Thus, the client’s debt does not just remain - it grows every month, even if the card is considered “blocked”. This creates a vicious circle: the foreigner can neither repay the debt (due to lack of access to the account in Germany) nor return to the country to resolve the issue in person.

A scientist whose work by definition requires international cooperation - attending congresses and symposia, exchanging experience at working meetings, accessing unique collections abroad - is deprived of the opportunity to travel due to an artificially created negative credit balance.

Imagine: you are a scientist, and your work is unthinkable without international conferences, exchanging ideas at symposia, joint projects, and access to rare collections in foreign museums and archives. But one day, due to a negative balance engineered by the bank and a visa refusal, all these doors close. And there is no way out: it’s not just trips that get cancelled - your entire scientific career collapses. You have no choice but to radically rebuild your career and sometimes give up scientific activity altogether.

And when you change your profession, you don’t just alter your plans - you leave behind the work of your entire life…

Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of euros lost for the family and for proper science.


Weak points in the MasterCard Gold scheme:

1. Lack of explicit consent between foreign clients and Deutsche Bank:

A. No signatures were placed on the contract.

B. Signatures for the credit card agreement were given during a general procedure, without a separate emphasis on their significance.


2. Misleading information:

Clients were not informed that transferring all funds from their SparKonto to another bank (to Commerzbank, Frankfurt am Main) was not “optimisation”, but an actual withdrawal.


3. Manipulation with blocking:

Even after the card was blocked, service fees and subscriptions (arranged without the client’s knowledge) continued to be charged.


11.05.2004-11.05.2026.

© Copyright: Elena Kordikova - Tasya Meierhold, 2026
Publication certificate №126051101471

© Copyright: Елена Кордикова, 2026
Свидетельство о публикации №226051101109