Image: Henrique Matos
In Salzburg, the police managed to track down twelve suspects after a major “love scam”. The main perpetrator, a 30-year-old North Macedonian, had met his victim in a very classic way – on a train journey from Linz to Salzburg in October 2020. He then deceived the 49-year-old from Salzburg into having feelings of love and a love relationship and got the woman to him to ultimately transfer or hand over a total of around 130,000 euros. According to investigators, he repeatedly faked emergencies – such as an illness that can only be operated on by a specialist, funeral expenses, money for an apartment or problems with the police at the airport. He showed up at the woman’s home a dozen times to collect money from her. He was partly supported by a fellow countryman of the same age. In addition, the 49-year-old has transferred money to a total of twelve people or accounts around 150 times.
First love, then threats
When the Salzburg woman became suspicious at the beginning of June 2021, the alleged lover threatened her with death on the phone and in text messages and forced her to make further transfers. It was not until September 2022 that the woman finally plucked up the courage to report the matter to the police. In the course of the investigation, in cooperation with Europol, ten other suspects aged between 29 and 64 were found in addition to the two 30-year-olds, three of whom live in Austria. They are all being reported for serious commercial fraud, and the alleged main perpetrator will also have to answer for serious blackmail. According to the police, the suspects have already been questioned, but they are still at large.
Source: Nachrichten
