Fraud scam

How a cell phone gang fools letter carriers and police

The parcels are accepted by fraudsters.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com, krone.at-Grafik)

Fraudsters order expensive cell phones to someone else's address and accept the parcels with fake IDs. The unknown persons are currently up to mischief in the district of Krems and the damage is already in the five-figure range.

A fraud method already known in Germany now seems to be spreading to Lower Austria. The focus is on expensive cell phones. The perpetrators order these online in the names of strangers without them being aware of it. The criminals know exactly when the parcels are due to arrive.

Already successful nine times
On the day of delivery, they wait on site and speak directly to the delivery person. They show them a fake ID to get hold of the order. This has worked nine times in recent weeks in the Langenlois area in the district of Krems - the amount of damage has already reached five figures.

Paying attention to the surnames
According to the police, it is striking that many of the victims have Romanian surnames, which leads to the assumption that the perpetrators have a similar origin. "Otherwise, it would probably be more difficult for the delivery service to hand them over," says an investigator. The home address itself is also likely to play a major role. "In Germany, houses are scouted out in advance and less densely populated areas are deliberately selected," they say.