Daughter trick

Fraudsters bite their teeth out on “Krone” readers

Time and again, elderly victims in particular fall for the dirty tricks of clever, unscrupulous fraudsters.

(Bild: LPD Kärnten (Symbolbild))

Brazen con artists are currently increasing their criminal activities in Carinthia. The "Krone" spoke to a man from Feldkirch who reacted in an exemplary and timely manner. 

A victim (93) in the district of Klagenfurt handed over gold coins worth thousands of euros, a few hours earlier a perpetrator had taken jewelry worth tens of thousands of euros from a pensioner (73) in St. Veit - both victims (as reported) fell for the daughter-son trick: Their children would be in custody following an accident and bail would have to be paid. Cases like this are currently on the increase again in Carinthia, as the police confirm.

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Alleged message from daughter
However, the criminals recently cut their teeth on Josef Gratzer from Bodensdorf: "I received a WhatsApp message in which my supposed daughter gave me her new number. I was supposed to save it," said the 61-year-old in an interview with Krone. "I even sent her photos of her visit home. After all, she lives in Switzerland."

You read and hear a lot about these scams - but the perpetrators are really very convincing. I'm not surprised that so many people fall for it.

so „Krone“-Leser Josef Gratzer, der die Täter durchschaute

And it didn't take long for the scammers to get down to business: "My supposed daughter said that she needed to transfer a bill, but that it wouldn't work on her new cell phone. And if I could do it for her. She would pay me back immediately. And of course I've often read about scams like this in the 'Krone'. But the perpetrators are really very convincing, you wouldn't believe it. And as a father, you naturally want to help."

"I then became skeptical"
3200 euros were to be taken from the Carinthian. But what the perpetrators didn't know was that Josef Gratzer didn't use online banking and wanted to go to the bank the "old-fashioned way" and make a deposit using a payment slip. "Then the communication became strange - and I became skeptical. I then called the number - no response. So I dialed the old number. My daughter picked up the phone and of course didn't know anything." The 61-year-old then alerted the police.