81-year-old fell victim to fake police officer in Vienna-Simmering

An immediate search for the suspected perpetrator was unsuccessful. ©APA/EVA MANHART (symbolic image)

On Tuesday afternoon, an 81-year-old woman in Vienna-Simmering alerted the police after she had fallen victim to a con artist.

A police officer had called the woman and told her that the money in the bank was no longer safe due to the many recent ATM bombings. Since her assets were also at risk, the woman should immediately withdraw the money from her accounts. A colleague in uniform would later collect the money for safekeeping.

The 81-year-old then took a taxi ordered by the caller to two bank branches and withdrew a total of €17,000 from her accounts. After her return, the woman waited in her apartment for the supposed police officer, who called shortly afterwards. The 81-year-old let him into her apartment and handed him the money she had previously withdrawn. When the woman became suspicious and wanted to demand the money back, the suspect fled with the loot in an unknown direction. A description of the suspect is said to refer to a man around 35 years old, around 1.80 m tall, who was wearing a dark blue uniform with the word police on it. An immediate search for the suspected perpetrator that was initiated after the emergency call was made was unsuccessful.