Tricks passers-by

False Bitcoin wallets: fraudster wanted in Vienna

The suspect thought up a particularly cheeky scam - the police are asking for information.

(Bild: LPW Wien)

A previously unknown con artist has been deceiving passers-by with a cunning plan. Between January and March, he is said to have placed false Bitcoin paper wallets - better known as false documents - in public places in Vienna in order to feign the loss of these wallets.

The suspect is said to have displayed false Bitcoin paper wallets, i.e. false documents in transparent plastic sleeves, in public places several times in the Viennese districts of Wieden, Margareten and Mariahilf. The man apparently feigned the loss of these wallets. 

The finder was probably counting on easy money: the victims of this scam scanned the QR code visible on these customers, which took them to a fake website where they were asked to provide their email address and telephone number. 

Error message leads to further transaction
For a fee, the victims were led to believe that they would be paid out the amount in their account for a fee. However, it is not that easy to make money. After the transfer, the victims were apparently shown an error message about the transaction, where they were usually asked to make further transfers.

Information about the suspect

Any useful information is requested, also anonymously, to the criminal investigation department of the Margareten municipal police command on 01-31310-55226.

According to the investigating authorities, a photograph has been recovered so far. According to the Vienna police, the current amount of damage is not yet known - it is also possible that other victims are still unknown. The public is asked for information about the suspect.