Reports pile up

“Mr. Inspector” lures money out of victims’ pockets

An alleged "crime commissioner" contacted several Burgenland residents on the landline.(Bild: APA/dpa/Jan-Philipp Strobel)

Burglars are in high season during the vacation season. Cunning fraudsters are now taking advantage of this in a devious way. They pretend to be detectives in order to lure savings and valuable jewelry out of gullible victims. The number of reports is currently increasing in Burgenland.

The alarm bells have recently been ringing particularly loudly in the municipalities of Nikitsch and Deutschkreutz. Within a few hours, startled residents reported several cases.

Alleged burglary
The perpetrators always followed the same pattern. A man pretending to be a "detective inspector" called, not on a cell phone, but on a landline. In a calm but stern tone, the alleged investigator reported a burglary in the immediate vicinity of the caller.

Question about money
"Your name was on the secret list of burglars we found," claimed the supposed officer. In the next breath, he asked whether the potential victims kept a lot of money or valuables at home.

"No, I don't have any large sums of money or valuables at home," was the safest answer. After that, the "inspector" ended the call very quickly. The fake investigator only followed up with those residents whose details gave the impression of rich booty.

Telephone number known
In all cases that day in the Deutschkreutz and Nikitsch area, however, the perpetrators came away empty-handed. One woman was even able to remember the phone number of the mysterious caller. Now real investigators are following up this lead.