Example from Upper Austria

How to lose money to financial and life coaches

The self-proclaimed life and financial coaches advertise on the Internet with beautiful pictures of easy money and a carefree existence.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Stanley)

An Upper Austrian woman (45) fell into the online coaching trap for a good life and easy money. But now she has lost thousands of euros and is by no means an isolated case! The police are usually left out of the loop, as it is not a genuine scam, and consumer protectors rely on "goodwill" when it comes to being ripped off.

The Upper Austrian Chamber of Labor has more than 200 files on people who have been ripped off. And it is impossible to estimate the number of unreported cases of people who have been taken in by trainers on the Internet for a better life or to earn money without working. The fact that a 45-year-old woman from the Salzkammergut region got half of the money she invested back is a "great success" for the consumer protectors. Because you have to deal with legally well-positioned internet platforms from Cyprus, where "anyone who wants to can register as a coach", explains chief consumer protection officer Ulrike Weiß, who was able to obtain a refund of 4,500 euros for the Salzkammergut woman concerned.

Even experienced people fall for these offers. They are gripped by emotion, and desire becomes stronger than reason.

Ulrike Weiß, Leiterin des Konsumentenschutzes der Arbeiterkammer OÖ

The "road to riches" is sold
The woman had come across an advertisement on the internet from an online coach who boasted that he knew how to make a living from savings by investing properly. "Unlike traditional scammers, however, these coaches don't want money for investing, they sell the plan behind it," says Weiß, explaining that this perfidious rip-off is difficult to catch legally.

"Closers" don't take no for an answer
If you have taken the bait and are interested, there are free calls. However, these do not come from the advisor, but from so-called "closers" - and they are adept at persuasion. "Anyone who receives such a call is usually already trapped," warns the consumer advocate. Because they won't take no for an answer and lure you in with installments and promises.

A lot of money, little in return
But in return for a lot of money, you are often only sent poor documents or videos. In the case of the 45-year-old woman, it was not worth 11,000 euros. And it wasn't a signpost to an easier and financially carefree life, the opposite happened: thousands of euros are gone - the coach and the provider platform had the easy money.