Particle.news
Download on the App Store

New Romance-Scam Cases in Austria and Germany Expose Six-Figure Crypto Losses and Soldier Ruse

Police highlight hard-to-trace payment methods that hinder recovery.

Overview

  • A 48-year-old in Tyrol transferred more than €100,000 in cryptocurrency over two years after repeated marriage promises from a fraudster.
  • Police in Innsbruck-Land say the victim communicated via messaging platforms and the perpetrator's identity remains unknown as investigations proceed.
  • In Sömmerda, Thuringia, a 59-year-old sent €2,000 and various gift cards after contact via social media with someone posing as a U.S. soldier on deployment.
  • The impostor in the German case claimed he needed money for a certificate to return to the United States, and the victim filed a report only after further demands.
  • Authorities describe the pattern as love scamming that uses fake profiles to build emotional bonds, with no arrests reported in these two incidents.