Image: colourbox.de
As part of this form of fraud, the operator of an interior design business was lured by a “company” with a million-dollar deal because she was supposed to design the interior of numerous holiday homes. In fact, according to police spokeswoman Barbara Gass, in the end all she was left with was a loss in the lower six-figure euro range and worthless metal nuts.
As the state police department reported on Sunday, the Viennese woman was contacted by phone and email by a foreign company in November 2023 about this supposed opportunity. At the beginning of February this year there was a personal meeting in Belgium’s capital Brussels. There, both sides agreed on the “deal” – including a broker’s commission, which the 58-year-old had to pay in gold coins.
The handover was supposed to take place on Saturday of the previous week, again in Vienna in the woman’s shop. A representative of the “company” from abroad examined the gold there and put it in a box, which he then wrapped with adhesive tape. It was then agreed that the box in question would be kept in the 58-year-old’s safe – until the first part of the order sum was transferred by the business partners. This shouldn’t take long, the representative let it be known that he would immediately go to the bank transfer, then he would come back to the shop to get the gold.
Metal nuts instead of gold
However, the 58-year-old should have seen the man for the last time. After waiting for a long time, the woman, who had become suspicious, opened the package and found only worthless metal nuts instead of gold. The suspect probably exchanged the gold package with the worthless counterpart. From then on, the supposed company also disappeared and was unreachable, so the 58-year-old reported the case to a police station.
The Vienna State Criminal Police Office, Center East branch, Rip-Deal Unit Vienna, has taken over the investigation. These have so far revealed, among other things, that the group of perpetrators may have already committed several such fraudulent acts in Europe. According to police information about this fraud phenomenon, it is used almost exclusively by experienced gangs in the Western Balkan region, who present themselves to the victims as rich businessmen or investors.
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Source: Nachrichten
