A 66-year-old Viennese woman was the victim of an insidious scam in Vienna-Döbling on Tuesday. After telephone instructions from an alleged policewoman, the lady placed all her valuables in front of her apartment, convinced that this would keep it safe. The bag was collected by the scammers and the alleged policewoman never came back to her.
The caller pretended to be a police officer on the phone and explained to the 66-year-old lady that burglars had been reported in her area. Just to be safe, the woman has to hand over her valuables to the police when the burglars visit her apartment. The 66-year-old then left a bag full of all her valuables in front of her apartment. Inside was her money and thousands of dollars worth of gold.
Tuesday afternoon around 3.20 pm the unknown perpetrators struck. They took the woman’s bag and left with the valuables, never contacting the lady again. The Vienna State Criminal Investigation Service is now investigating the unknown fraudsters.
Common Scams
The Vienna police seized the current incident as an opportunity to warn about this common scam. With their “fake police officer” scam, the scammers usually steal from older people. They are convinced by telephone that they may be victims of burglars and therefore have to hand over their valuables to the police.
The police have explicitly pointed out that they do not ask for the storage of valuables. If you suspect the wrong police officer is on the phone, end the call and call 133.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
