Austrian police warn of massive wave of phone blackmail

Austria is being overwhelmed by a wave of fraud and blackmail using mobile phones and computers. Police reportedthat in recent days a huge number of e-mails have been sent to the cities of the country, in which the attackers demand to pay them five thousand euros in exchange for silence about the victims’ interest in child porn.

An investigation is underway, but the authorities decided to warn citizens in advance about the new danger. Victims were advised not to transfer money under any circumstances and to delete threatening emails.

Cases of fraud under the scheme “the child is in trouble” have also become more frequent. The police strongly advised to first contact the relative who allegedly got into trouble.

In Salzburg, a 53-year-old man was the victim of a pseudo-broker who persuaded him to register on an online trading platform and transfer 2.5 thousand euros to invest in cryptocurrency.

Even Austrian companies suffer from the actions of fraudsters. One of them received a message about changing the bank details of the partner. Managers transferred a six-figure sum to the deceivers.

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