Brazen approach

20-year-olds paid with money they printed themselves

The two 20-year-olds printed their own money (symbolic image).

(Bild: Nitschmann, Hans-Joachim - stock.adobe.com)

Two men from Deutschlandsberg (both 20) allegedly printed counterfeit money and bought it online in July and October 2023. They went shopping with it in Styria and Carinthia and paid for food orders. A waitress caught them doing this and reported them to the police. The two confessed to numerous criminal offenses.

They pulled off their scam for months - they were only discovered by an attentive waitress: she got hold of the counterfeit money belonging to the two 20-year-olds from Deutschlandsberg and reported them to the police. The Styrian criminal investigators were then able to establish no fewer than 29 completed and eight attempted offenses for counterfeiting and distributing counterfeit money.

20-year-olds acted brazenly
In July 2023, the two young adults are said to have started printing money themselves or ordering it online. They used it to pay in supermarkets, restaurants and petrol stations. In October of the same year, one of the 20-year-olds then changed his strategy: he ordered food from delivery services, had it delivered to parking lots and paid with counterfeit money. This not only saved him a lot of money, he was also able to enrich himself with the change.

Printer found during house search
Following the complaint, the public prosecutor's office in Graz ordered searches of the suspects' homes. Various utensils for printing money and a small amount of counterfeit money were found. As a result, 23 further completed offenses in Styria and six completed and eight attempted offenses in Carinthia were solved. The two young adults have confessed.

How you can protect yourself
The Styrian police now advise people to be careful: If you suspect that you have received counterfeit money, you should check it carefully first. If you are still unsure, it is best to hand in the counterfeit money at a police station. You should remember where you got the money from in order to trace it. In addition, anyone who passes on counterfeit money is liable to prosecution. And once you have accepted the counterfeit money, there is no replacement.