Overview
- In Vienna’s Floridsdorf district, a caller posing as “Oberinspektor Magister Gruber” convinced a 75-year-old to hand over cash and empty a bank safe, totaling about €158,000 in losses.
- The victim was told a bank employee was stealing, instructed not to speak to staff, sent by taxi to her branch, and directed to make in-person handovers to a supposed colleague.
- In Germany’s Starnberg area, a 95-year-old in Gauting hung up on a false claim that her daughter was arrested and immediately alerted police, preventing any loss.
- A 74-year-old in Weßling attempted to withdraw a five-figure sum after calls from bogus officers, but a bank payout delay and later contact with police stopped an immediate handover.
- Authorities say investigations are ongoing and stress they never collect money for “evidence,” advising calls to the emergency number 133 and to crime-prevention units for guidance.