The next victim of the ‘Barcelona gang’: a pensioner from Linz had all her valuables stolen on the highway in Spain on the way to the Catalan capital, but the 66-year-old fought for her belongings. And there were a lot of risks involved.
“Exactly the same thing happened to me” – with these words Karin Schütz (66) reported to the “Krone”. The woman from Linz is also believed to have fallen victim to the ‘Barcelona gang’, which causes mischief on the highway around the Spanish coastal city and apparently targets tourists with foreign license plates.
Another victim from Upper Austria
Recently, a 41-year-old driving from Upper Austria to Spain was stopped there under a pretext by impostors and robbed – we reported.
According to Karin Schütz, who was visiting her daughter who lives in Mallorca and was driving her VW Golf from Linz to Spain, the scam went like this: “About 30 kilometers from Barcelona someone overtook me and told me to stop as if my car was broken. on the right track. After riding 450 miles that day, I thought this might actually be the case.”
Handbag was gone
So the 66-year-old pulled over to the side of the road and got behind the car with the unknown man who had stopped her. “Then he loosened the tire valve for me. I immediately put it back upright and when I got up, I noticed that my handbag was missing from the passenger seat,” says Schütz.
Suddenly everything was gone
Passport, mobile phone, wallet: everything was stolen from the pensioner from Linz, apparently by a second perpetrator. Because without her valuables she would have been stranded in the middle of Spain – “I wouldn’t have even found the embassy” – she went after the criminals and chased them. According to Schütz, the thieves opened the back door of the car and threw the bag outside. Everything was still there, ‘only’ about 600 euros in cash was missing. The police confirm that they have received a report about the incident.
Warning to other travelers
Now the pensioner wants to warn other travelers: the unknown perpetrators had previously hidden her license plate so that tourists could recognize her in the future.
The Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also aware of the scams on the Spanish motorway: “Watch your luggage and do not leave the car without locking it,” the ministry advises online.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
