Nasty scam

How a farmer even paid extra when selling

A winegrower (27) from the district of Krems actually just wanted to get rid of a piece of agricultural machinery and reinvest the money. But things turned out differently. The supposed buyer turned out to be a fraudster and the victim even ended up transferring money to him.

The 27-year-old wanted a few thousand euros for the machine he no longer needed. To sell it, he advertised it on an online platform. It didn't take long for an interested party to get in touch with him. Although there were communication problems due to the language barrier, they finally agreed on a purchase price of 4,500 euros.

Planned down to the smallest detail
However, things turned out very differently for the farmer, as the supposed buyer was a mean fraudster who was not interested in the machine at all, but had planned everything down to the smallest detail. First, he showed the man from the Krems district a forged bank confirmation stating that he had transferred far too much.

Transferred back three times
Without a single cent reaching his account, the 27-year-old received an email from the bank a short time later that should not officially exist. It stated that he should return the overpaid amount. It also demanded an amount for opening an escrow account. In the end, the winegrower transferred several hundred euros in three stages. He was unable to explain why when questioned after the charges were filed. He saw himself as the victim of an opaque business model.