Thanks to Styrian IT investigators, an investigation was conducted into two young people from Mödling (16, 17) who played a fake game with buyers using jukeboxes and vouchers on the Internet. The injured parties never received the purchased goods, but the boys did collect a four-digit dollar amount.
A TikTok video served as instruction for two young people from Mödling (16 and 17 years old) for an internet fraud that is spreading throughout Austria. Victims paid for a music box or vouchers for an international online mail order company without ever receiving them. Styrian IT researchers have discovered the two teenagers, the Styrian State Police Directorate announced on Wednesday.
I bought a music box, but never received it
The Styrian investigation dates back to August 2023. At that time, a 16-year-old Styrian reported to the police in Riegersburg. He said he had fallen victim to a scam via an online sales platform – he had paid 240 euros for a music box, which he never received. After being unable to contact the provider, he went to the police.
Some victims did not yet know about their bad luck
The IT researcher from the Styrian district came across the first clue in Lower Austria on the digital marketplace and, with the support of analysts from the Styrian State Criminal Investigation Department, brought similar cases across the country to several Austrian police stations and in particular the Perchtoldsdorf police land together. A total of 21 similar fraud cases were found that had already occurred in the period June and July 2023. In addition to victims in Styria, Carinthia, Lower and Upper Austria, Salzburg and Vienna, victims were also identified in Germany and Finland. Some of them were still waiting for the music box or still thought they had purchased a valid voucher.
TikToker as a bad role model
It turned out that the two young men from the Mödling district used different ‘nicknames’ on the sales platform. They have already made a full confession and told police that they learned about the scam from a TikTok video in which a user bragged about the scam. The two young people were reported on suspicion of multiple fraud.
The damage amounts to a low four-digit euro amount. According to police, the money has already been refunded to all known victims.
Source: Krone
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