The police publish a photo of a young man accused of defrauding victims of 300,000 euros
The police in Lower Austria are looking for victims of a 20-year-old con artist who was recently arrested and is suspected of being involved in fraud amounting to around 300,000 euros. The Polish young man worked as a money collector in the scams of "fake bail" and "fake medicine," but he did not confess to any of the charges.
Five successful operations took place during the spring, along with seven failed attempts. The locations of the crimes were distributed between Vienna, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Tyrol, and Styria. The police have published photos of the suspect in order to identify him by the victims.
The investigation group "Fake Police" of the Criminal Office in "Lower Austria", in cooperation with the Federal Criminal Office, has identified the suspect. The Public Prosecutor's Office for Corruption and Economic Crime ordered his arrest. He was apprehended in early June at a hotel in the state of "Vorarlberg" after entering the country, and was then transferred to "Wien-Josefstadt" prison. The police seized tools suspected to have been used in the crimes. It is believed that he committed organized fraud between March 25 and May 21, while failing in attempts that resulted in damages of around 830,000 euros.
The police have urged anyone who believes they have fallen victim to this person to contact the criminal office in "Niederösterreich" at the number 059133-30-3333. The suspect is described as being 1.66 meters tall.
In the "bail" scam, the caller pretends to be a police officer and claims that a relative of the victim caused a serious accident, asking for a sum of money to avoid jail. Another scammer is sent to collect the money in person. In the "medicine" scam, the caller claims to be a doctor and informs the victim that a relative has cancer and needs an expensive medication from Switzerland, asking them to hand over money or jewelry to someone claiming to be a "hospital employee." In both cases, the money is quickly smuggled abroad.