They could soon be unboxing fines rather than freebies -- Germany's online influencers are facing a tax evasion crackdown that has left them screaming OMG!

The issue hit the headlines after the country's most populous state announced a specialised unit of investigators was probing influencer tax dodging on a massive scale.

They are assessing a stash of some 6,000 data records from social media platforms that point to unpaid taxes on everything from earnings from views to advertising products.

"We know that there is a lot of money circulating right now," Stephanie Thien, head of the state office for combating financial crime in North-Rhine Westphalia, told AFP.

"And we also know that not all of it is being taxed properly."

Like elsewhere, the number of influencers on platforms like TikTok and Instagram has exploded in Europe's top economy in recent years.

According to the German Association for the Digital Economy, the amount of money that companies spend on influencer marketing rose from 223 million euros ($262 million) in 2019 to 477 million euros in........

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