Image: LOIC VENANCE (AFP)
Victims paid for a music box or vouchers for an international online mail order company without ever receiving them. Styrian IT investigators discovered the two teenagers, the Styria State Police Directorate announced on Wednesday.
- more on the subject: Consequences for users: Music dispute over TikTok escalates
The Styrian investigation goes back to August 2023. At that time, a 16-year-old Styrian reported to the police in Riegersburg. He said that he had been the victim of a scam via an online sales platform – he had paid 240 euros for a music box, which he had never received. After failing to contact the provider, he went to the police.
21 cases of fraud
The Styrian district IT investigator came across the first lead in Lower Austria on the digital marketplace and, with the support of analysts from the Styrian State Criminal Police Office, various Austrian police stations and in particular the Perchtoldsdorf police, brought together similar cases nationwide. In total, 21 similar cases of fraud were found that had already occurred in the period June and July 2023. In addition to victims in Styria, Carinthia, Lower and Upper Austria, Salzburg and Vienna, victims were also identified in Germany and Finland. Some of them were still waiting for the music box or still thought they had purchased a valid voucher.
It turned out that the two young men from the Mödling district were using different “nicknames” on the sales platform. They have already made a full confession and told the police that they became aware of the scam through a TikTok video in which a user bragged about the scam. The two young people were reported on suspicion of multiple fraud.
The damage amounts to a low four-digit euro amount. According to the police, the money has already been paid back to all known victims.
My themes
For your saved topics were
new articles found.
info By clicking on the icon you can add the keyword to your topics.
info
By clicking on the icon you open your “my topics” page. They have of 15 keywords saved and would have to remove keywords.
info By clicking on the icon you can remove the keyword from your topics.
Add the topic to your topics.
Source: Nachrichten
