Thousands of euros stolen

Styrian (47) deceived with online financial trick

He just wanted to do his employee tax assessment and fell victim to fraudsters. The "financial online trick" was used to take thousands of euros from the 47-year-old man from Deutsch Goritz between the middle and end of May. The case shows that it could happen to anyone.

Like many people these days, a 47-year-old man from Deutsch Goritz in south-eastern Styria wanted to make his employee tax assessment. But he fell victim to internet fraudsters. On March 12, he received a link to the supposed online portal of the Federal Ministry of Finance "Finanz Online" via text message.

"Bank employee" spoke up
When he clicked on it, he had already fallen into the trap: he entered his personal details on the astonishingly realistic website. A few days later, a supposed bank employee called him. The unknown fraudster stated that the 47-year-old Styrian's money was at risk of being transferred to Russia.

Several thousand euros gone
He asked him to "work with him". And so the victim transferred thousands of euros to the fraudsters in several tranches by the end of March. This approach shows that it could happen to anyone. In fact, there are currently several cases of this kind. The Styrian police are therefore once again warning against the "financial online trick" and appealing to people not to click on links in text messages or emails.

How you can protect yourself
The police also advise against following any requests for payment. You should always log on to "Finanz Online" yourself via a browser or by searching in a search engine. In the event of a claim, you should contact your bank and the police immediately.