Vienna police warn of new fraud

With a clever scam, scammers steal valuables and turn victims into taxpayers. Viennese police warned of such crimes on Sunday. Twelve times criminals have already succeeded with their trick, three times they only tried. The amount of the damages is 18,720 euros, the investigators assume a greater number of unreported cases. Potential victims can appear at any inspection.

Officials from the criminal department of the Tannengasse Police Station clarified the scammers’ approach. Since January of this year, they have been looking for sales offers for mobile phones, televisions or laptops through Internet platforms. A woman named “Sara” contacts the suppliers and always lowers or raises the price to exactly 1,560 euros. Once the deal is sealed, “Sara” has the bank details of the alleged transfer of the sale price.

At the same time, scammers are offering rental apartments on Internet platforms under the guise of a front company called “Immobilien GmbH”. A deposit of 1,560 euros is required for the respective property. The perpetrators give the account number of the first injured party, the seller of the item of value, as the transfer account. For “faster processing”, payment must be made without specifying a purpose.

The fraudsters now receive the merchandise from the seller, whose account has received the 1,560 euros. The injured party ignores the taxpayer because at first glance he appears to be involved in the fraud. The second injured person transferred 1,560 euros for a property that did not exist.

“Make other people and those around you aware of this scam,” the police appealed. And: “Don’t make transfers without a purpose.” Rentals must be consulted before making a payment.