Extreme case from Vienna

Fraudulent shock calls come from call centers

The fraudulent calls come from Turkish call centers.(Bild: stock.adobe, Krone KREATIV)

After a record haul from a Viennese widow, a pair of Turkish brothers have been caught. The economic and corruption prosecutor's office (WKStA) is investigating the fake police officers.

As the damage exceeds five million euros, the file, which has now grown to hundreds of pages, is being handled by the WKStA, which is omnipresent due to its investigations into former politicians such as former chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

The fraudulent calls come from Turkish call centers.(Bild: stock.adobe, Krone KREATIV)

There is a mafia gang of more than 30 suspects behind the fake police officers. The fraudsters are tightly organized and operate from Turkey. From call centers there, pensioners in Austria, but also throughout Europe, are lured into the trap with shock calls. Some of the potential victims are spied on beforehand and the money or valuables are then collected by "collectors".

Bosses live in luxury
The actual bosses remain in the background and live in luxury. The godfather of this group is said to be worth as much as 500 million euros! The business is flourishing.

Even in the case of the Viennese academic widow, who handed over 1.5 million euros in cash, only two small fish were caught in the net, a pair of Turkish brothers. One of the suspects still in custody (lawyer Manfred Arbacher-Stöger) is said to have been allowed to retain only 20,000 euros of the 600,000 euros collected as wages. His brother, represented by top lawyer Rudolf Mayer, has since been released.

My client was only a small collector within this group who had never done anything bad before.

Anwalt Rudolf Mayer

Meanwhile, the investigation into the fake police officers is continuing at full speed.