Fake police officer swindled 70,000 euros
A 35-year-old Austrian man has been arrested in Vienna after allegedly posing as a police officer and tricking a 75-year-old woman into handing over around €70,000 in savings.
Investigators from the Einsatzgruppe zur Bekämpfung der Straßenkriminalität (EGS – Special Unit for Combating Street Crime) arrested the suspect at his home in Vienna-Meidling on Thursday. He is accused of deceiving the woman on July 29, 2026, as part of a sophisticated scam investigated by the Landeskriminalamt Wien (Vienna State Criminal Police Office).
The scheme reportedly began with a phone call from an unidentified man who falsely claimed to be the head of the Landeskriminalamt Wien. He allegedly warned the woman that the money she kept in her bank was no longer safe and persuaded her to withdraw her savings from a bank safe-deposit box in Vienna-Donaustadt.
Believing the caller's story, the elderly woman withdrew around €70,000 and later handed the entire amount directly to the 35-year-old suspect. Police are still investigating the identity of the original caller and whether other people were involved in the operation.
The investigation took another turn when officers searched the suspect's home. They reportedly found two pairs of brass knuckles, a stun gun, and a loaded firearm. Authorities also discovered that the man was already subject to an official weapons ban.
The suspect has been reported for suspected serious fraud committed as part of a criminal organization as well as offenses under Austria's Weapons Act. On orders from the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office, he was taken to a correctional facility pending further proceedings.