Police warn

Tyrolean woman (72) became a victim of telephone fraudsters

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(Bild: APA/dpa/Jan-Philipp Strobel)

The senior citizen from Tyrol handed over a mid five-digit euro sum to the fraudsters. The perpetrators pretended to be fake police officers. The police are once again warning the public about fraudulent calls.

A 72-year-old woman in the district of Kitzbühel has fallen victim to telephone fraudsters. A woman and a man called the senior citizen several times on Thursday, pretending to be police officers with a High German accent and saying that the 72-year-old's daughter had been involved in a traffic accident resulting in death.

A mid-six-figure euro sum had to be paid to the insurance company. The 72-year-old finally handed over a mid-five-figure sum.

The 72-year-old was informed that her daughter had been involved in a traffic accident in which one person had died.

Die Polizei

According to the police, there were further attempts at fraud in the district of Kitzbühel on Thursday. A 58-year-old woman and an 81-year-old woman were contacted under a similar pretext. However, the two women broke off the calls and informed the police.

On this occasion, the Tyrolean police once again warn against call fraudsters:

• Ignore such calls, break off the conversation immediately.
• Neither the police nor the public prosecutor's office or lawyers will demand that you hand over cash or valuables over the phone, not even as a deposit.
• Make a report to the police (Tel: 059133 or emergency call 133)